Brickyl
by BrickylLove
Summary: Set after season four. After Daryl and Rick rescue Beth from her abductors, a love triangle forms. If you are not looking for a love triangle and all that implies, please do not read. This is a threesome ZA love story, and though there are generous amounts of smut mixed in, the plot echoes TWD and aspires to truly tell a story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Rick

Beth's blue eyes pinned Rick, and as had been the case since he'd found her in that cell, his breath caught at the fierce beauty she had become, overnight, it seemed, "You have to talk to Daryl, Rick. It's been 3 days."

But he didn't want to _think_ about Daryl yet, or Daryl's suggestion. Rick's eyes lingered on the curve of Beth's lips and he imagined leaning forward and kissing her. He pictured her reaction, the sweet response from the rooftop. She'd been watching him forever, her crush a tangible thing between them. Before, he'd been able to easily put her attraction to him in perspective, but the man he was now knew her abduction and experiences had aged her, and not just physically. A woman stood in front of him, the wise blue of her eyes looking into his soul.

"He's hurting. Just be honest with him. If you can never reciprocate our feelings, he needs to know. Instead, you just stare at him. At me."

Rick sighed, "I know. I'll talk to him tonight, on watch duty, okay?" His hand, on its own volition, cupped her cheek, and he felt her sway toward him. Quickly, he dropped his hand, backed away from the temptation that was Beth, and pleaded with her with his own blue eyes.

"I'm not ready for any of this," he whispered and the sound was harsh, like he blamed her. Or even Daryl.

The burn of Daryl's stare drew Rick's gaze across their temporary camp. The archer leaned against a tree, watching Rick and Beth with molten heat in his eyes, and Rick felt the now accustomed tightening of his body. Why was this so damn confusing?

...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Daryl

Watching Rick and Beth, their body language screaming how much they longed to touch one another, Daryl imagined he saw only rejection when Rick glanced in his direction. A burning started in behind his eyes and he swallowed roughly

Fuck 'em. Fuck this shit. Swinging his crossbow over his shoulder, he stomped off into the woods, so damn angry with himself. For the thousandth time, he wondered what the hell he'd been thinking. Never needed nobody before this. Never thought about a fucking man like that. Never had his heart move in his chest at the words of some stupid woman.

When they'd busted open that cell, and Daryl had tossed tiny Beth's limp, drugged frame over his shoulder, Rick had grasped the back of his neck, jerking him close, and leaning their foreheads together. Daryl had never felt more alive. The three of them, standing in the chaos of that hospital of horrors, bonded together by something so much larger than survival, had felt so perfect and he'd been unable to stop himself, tilting his head and pressing his lips to Rick's. Time had stood still, lips resting, his in need and Rick's in surprise. But then Rick's mouth had softened, his lips had moved gently against Daryl's, and Daryl almost cried in relief. He'd never been attracted to a man before, but he'd never met a man like Rick Grimes.

The kiss, just the barest caress of lips, had probably only lasted seconds, but the moment had replayed itself so many times in his mind that it seemed hours. Hours of that sweet press of lips. Rick had pulled back first, his eyes wide in surprise, and whispered, almost to himself, "You are my family."

Rick's hand still held the back of Daryl's neck, and as he slowly released his hold, he trailed it down Daryl's shoulder and cupped his elbow, "My brother."

After that, they'd been running, pounding through the dark, dirty corridors of the hospital, past the bodies of a dozen men and women they'd killed on their path to reach Beth. Outside, Rick had taken out walker after walker as Daryl followed with his precious cargo. Finally, in exhaustion, they'd holed up in an abandoned gas station, one with multiple exits and roof access. Rick cleared it of a couple of stray walkers as Daryl carried Beth to the roof. He'd been sitting, holding his sweet girl in his lap, when her eyes had finally opened.

"You saved me," she whispered, her voice so scratchy that he barely recognized the sound.

"Was just following Rick's plan, he saved you," he replied, and felt an unaccustomed smile curve his lips as she rolled her eyes at him, and poked him in the chest.

"I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life," Beth leaned her head into Daryl's neck and took a deep breath, "They were going to drug and then rape me, as many of the men as possible, as often as possible, for the greater good." Beth's fingers trailed over the spot of dried blood on her arm, the spot where Rick had ripped out the IV.

"I've missed you," she whispered, lifting her head and meeting his eyes, "I love you, Daryl."

He lost his breath at the sincere belief in her eyes, at the beauty of her dirt-smudged face, and the power of her words. His heart pounded wildly in his chest and he tightened his arms around her.

If Rick hadn't climbed up to the roof just then, he might have told her he loved her too.

...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Rick

Rick saw the pain on Daryl's face as he stomped away. Turning back to Beth, scrubbing a hand over his face, "Any suggestions?"

Beth stepped closer, reaching up to take his face in her hands, "Tell him the truth. Tell him you're confused and don't know what to do. Tell him you're thinking about it."

Shocked, he stared down at her, this tiny woman, so wise, was such a solid rock in the middle of this insane trio of rolling stones he'd found himself embroiled in. She knew. She knew he wanted this. The understanding on her face had him releasing the trapped breath in his chest, blowing back the loose hair framing her beautiful face, "You're really okay with the idea? What will we say? How will I explain it to Carl? To any of them?"

"We'll cross those bridges when we get to them." He understood, it could be at least a week before they reached Carl and the others, a week or even more before that giant herd cleared out. Once again, he was thankful they'd left everyone in that fortified house, full of stored food and water.

When the priest had told them about the hospital, had told them Beth's probable fate, he and Daryl had immediately left for the city, leaving the rest of the group behind in that utopia the priest had created. Father Gabriel had been collecting food and water since the ZA began, and there was more than enough for the whole group to hole up through the winter, if necessary.

About a half a day from Father Gabriel's house, Rick, Beth, and Daryl had come across a herd larger than Rick could have imagined existed. They'd stood at the top of a hill, looking down at an ocean of the dead. Daryl's estimate was 50 thousand, but to Rick, there had seemed twice that number, endless shuffling walkers, aimlessly following one another. They were slowly leaving the city, a massive wave of death, straight toward the priest's heavily fortified home. As long as the group stayed hidden and didn't attract the herd's notice, it would simply flow around the house, as they seemed to do with all structures in their path.

So Rick, Beth, and Daryl had found another way out of the city, but since all the walkers they saw seemed to be headed in the direction of the herd, they'd have to wait to reunite with the rest of the group. For now, they'd paused in heavily wooded area, hoping to catch a few rabbits, before finding a suitable structure to spend a few days.

Rick's hands cupped Beth's face, "I'm just so confused."

"Tell him," she whispered, gently tugging his face to hers, "I want this more than anything in the world." Her lips, so much softer than Daryl's, lightly touched Rick's. Her eyes were liquid pools of heat, and he wanted to grab her, fit her tiny frame to his own, and lose himself in the fire of her loving, but he stepped back.

"I've never done anything like this before."

"I know, silly, it will be a new experience for all three of us." The love and humor in her eyes was his undoing, and he grabbed her, roughly molding their bodies together.

"You are so beautiful, we don't deserve you," he said into her hair, as she rolled her hips. As he lifted her, her long legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and she ground herself against him.

"Go get Daryl. Let's get somewhere safe," her body continued to grind against his and he almost lost his footing. He watched in amazement as she tossed her head back and stiffened against him, obviously in the throes of an orgasm. His raging hard-on begged for relief, too, but he ignored it, waiting for her to come back from her high. The satisfied little grin on her face suddenly made him laugh in sheer joy, and as he set her back on her feet, he couldn't help cupping one of her small breasts in his hand and whispering, "Stay right here. Fire one shot at the sign of any trouble, we'll be here in a jiffy."

...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - Daryl

Daryl heard Rick before he saw him. Knowing Rick was either coming to reject him, or even worse, continue the silent treatment, pissed him off, so he hung behind the tree until Rick was right next to him. Stepping out into Rick's path, he grunted, "Heard you coming a mile away."

Neither moved. They stood there, closer than brothers would ever stand, staring at each other, their breath the only sound in the woods.

Daryl stared at Rick, mesmerized by the steel blue of the other man's eyes. He prepared himself for the worst, the scenario where Rick wanted to part ways, or have Beth all to himself, but as he watched Rick start to speak twice and both times fall silent, Daryl knew Rick didn't know _what_ to say.

Fuck words, Daryl thought, and slowly brought his lips towards Ricks. He stopped when only a breath was between them, still holding the other man's gaze. Rick might not be able to find the words Daryl needed to hear, but the man wanted him to kiss him again, that was obvious, and really it was the only thing that mattered.

Their breathing harsh, mouths slammed together suddenly, both initiating at the same time, and it was nothing like kissing Beth.

Lips bruised and teeth gnashed, their tongues fought for dominance, thrusting deep into each other's mouths, over and over, until it became impossible to tell whose tongue was whose. Both held the other's head in a iron grip, and still their faces twisted crazily as each turned the other man's head to fit closer to his mouth.

As suddenly as the kiss began, Daryl's entire posture changed. He released the skull-grip he'd had on Rick's head, and wrapped his arms around Rick, pulling their bodies together. Continuing the punishment of a kiss, Rick completely took over, doing whatever he wanted to Daryl's mouth. A minute passed like this, while Daryl slowly and soothingly ran his hands over Rick's back.

Rick broke away, gasping for air, his hands resting on his knees. Daryl stared at him, tasting blood, tasting every bit of passion Rick had just given him. Never had he imagined _that_.

When Rick slumped to sit in the leaves, Daryl fell to his knees behind him. Words were not his strong suit, so instead he wrapped his arms around Rick's chest, and nestled his face into the side of Rick's neck. The smell of the other man made Daryl even harder, if that was possible, and they sat silently like that for a while.

"I don't know what I'm doing." Rick's voice was so soft that Daryl barely heard him. Daryl grunted in agreement and whispered, "Yeah," though his heart was singing. Every since the other night on the rooftop, he'd been living in misery, worried he'd lost his best friend, and worried he'd never get to kiss Rick again. As far as Daryl was concerned, this kiss had released all of his fears, and he began to softly rain kisses across Rick's clenched jaw, ear, and neck.

...

Rick sat there in the bliss of Daryl's embrace, also remembering the rooftop. He'd climbed up to find Beth snuggled into Daryl's lap, curled into Daryl's broad chest. Something similar to jealousy, but more like sorrow, curled in the pit of his stomach, but when Beth held out a small hand to him, he immediately went to sit at their side.

Rick grunted in surprise as she quickly switched laps, curling up against him now, looking at him with something akin to hero worship, "You both saved me. I never doubted one of you would show up! Every day I kept repeating, one of them will rescue you, Beth! And always, your voices were in my head. Daryl, you told me to knee that guard in the nuts and smash his nose with the flat of my hand! And Rick! You told to keep my eyes open, observe everything around me. Just knowing the two of you saved my life on several occasions."

Still in Rick's lap, Beth had reached across to Daryl and pulled him in for an a kiss. Rick had stared in shock, his dick uncomfortably hardening against Beth's bottom. He watched, unable to look away, as Daryl now kissed Beth like he'd first kissed Rick, soft and lovingly.

Uncomfortably, he put his hands on her hips, ready to shift her back to Daryl, when her lips left Daryl's and quickly shifted to Rick's mouth. He was so stunned, not quite as much as when Daryl kissed him, but stunned nonetheless. Beth's hungry, sweet-tasting little mouth almost instantly grabbed his attention and he began kissing her back. When he felt the heaven of Daryl's lips on his neck, he'd sighed at the perfection of it all, before common sense kicked in.

Shoving them both away, he'd scooted away on his butt, staring in confusion at the beauty of their faces, both watching him expectantly.

"I love both of you. You are equally the sexiest men I've ever known. I've daydreamed about a threesome between us since the farm." Beth voice was stronger now, and full of conviction, "I want you both."

They all stared at one another, Rick in something akin to shock, whereas Daryl had looked thoughtful, "It's not as crazy as it sounds. A threesome. We could make it work."

At the time, it had all been too much for Rick, and he'd spent the next few days only speaking to them when necessary.

Now though, as he sat in the leaves, Daryl's arms around him, with that warm mouth all over his neck, he thought of that silent treatment as a waste of time.

He turned in Daryl's arms, and with shame he reached to touch the other man's bruised mouth, swollen from Rick's punishing kisses, "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine. You needed that. You needed to do that," Daryl gave a little grunt as though that was the end of the matter.

Rick couldn't let it go so easily, "Seriously man, I'm so..."

A gunshot pierced the stillness.

...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Beth

Beth quickly packed up their meager belongings, humming under her breath. She laughed when she realized she was humming "A Few of My Favorite Things" and decided to freestyle.

"Sweat drops on rednecks  
And whiskers on policemen  
Cans of fruit and pretty white sweaters  
Ripped stomach muscles and three mouths kissing  
These are a few of my favorite things"

She dissolved in giggles, knowing they'd think she was an idiot if they heard her. She didn't care, nothing mattered now except for their love triangle, and she'd seen in Rick's eyes that he'd finally accepted it!

The thought of her two beautiful men just kissing one another had sent her into an instant orgasm against Rick earlier, so she could only imagine how it would feel to have both of them against her. The kiss she initiated on the rooftop had been the boldest thing she'd ever done, and quite honestly, she was feeling pretty darn proud of herself. Though she was excited about eventually seeing the rest of the group, especially Maggie and Judith, she was happy to have a few more days with just the three of them.

Picking up the small bow Daryl had found for her, she eyed several small squirrels playing in the trees above. Notching an arrow, she carefully tracked one.

"We've got some venison back at our camp, little lady, if you want more than those scrawny squirrels."

Beth whipped around, her arrow pointed at the center of the filthiest chest she'd ever seen. The old man in front of her grinned, revealing missing and rotted teeth.

"Back away from me, or I'll put an arrow in your chest," she told him, and he held his hands up easily.

"Calm down, little missy, I'm not going to hurt you," he crooned, but his eyes were on her breasts, and he licked cracked lips.

Beth heard the snap of a twig to her left, but didn't respond to the man's companion creeping up next to her. The creep in front of her cackled, "I bet you've been lonely out here all by yourself," and when he reached down to rub at his penis, Beth released her arrow, hitting the man high in the chest. She dropped her bow, grabbed her knife, and threw as she turned toward the other man, feeling no guilt as the knife sank to the hilt in his throat. He fell heavily to the ground. She turned back to the creep, he was crying, blubbering, "Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"

She reached into her pack, holstering her gun, and using a short rope, tied the man's hands tightly behind him, "I'm not alone and they are probably going to kill you when they get back."

Ignoring his cries, she returned to the other man, barely thinking of his death, and pulled her knife from his throat and then sank into back into his skull.

"You're going to die, bitch!" A third man, tall and hulking, appeared at the tree line, taking in the scene, "Wayne! You okay?"

Beth didn't think, her gun was in her hand and a hole appeared in the big guy's chest. Wayne, the guy wearing her arrow, slumped sideways, either he was dead or passed out, she really didn't care.

When Rick and Daryl appeared beside her, chests heaving, she gave them a sweet smile, "No one's ever raping me again."

...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - Daryl

As they ran back to the camp, Daryl was terrified, and blaming himself for stomping off in a huff, leading Rick to follow, and leaving their sweet Beth all alone.

He'd probably never forget the tiny woman, standing in the clearing, three dead bodies at her feet, the sweet smile, "No one's ever raping me again."

He and Rick met eyes, both horrified, but Rick jumped into action, "We've got to go!" Packs were shouldered and they were jogging swiftly through the woods in less than a minute. He kept glancing back at Beth, and she simply smiled back, and honestly, it was bothering the shit out of him. Who raped her? At the hospital? Before that? What the fuck?

They moved in a line, Daryl leading, Beth in the middle, and Rick covering the rear, a steady pace, no sound but their labored breathing.

...

Hours later, a small cluster of houses appeared. They quietly surveyed the scene, everything seemed abandoned, there wasn't a vehicle in sight. Beth followed their hand signals and stayed close as they checked the houses. They choose the third one.

While Beth went inside and started searching the cabinets, the guys gathered whatever they could find from the other houses.

Rick and Daryl met back up, standing far from their home for the night, and both men just stared at each other, an entire conversation flowed without a word.

Finally, Rick grasped Daryl's bicep and whispered, "I have a little experience with rape victims, but she's acting very strange. Let me talk to her."

Daryl nodded in relief, "Yeah."

He watched Rick go in the house, only slightly ashamed that he admired Rick's swagger at a time like this. For the next hour, he examined the area surrounding the houses, finally satisfied that it had been over a year since a human, or a walker, had been in the area.

He found them in the kitchen, Rick seated at a small, round table, Beth in his lap. They were kissing, the slow gentle kind, and it seemed so sweet, almost not sexual, that Daryl could only stare, feeling outside of the loving display before him. But then they broke apart, and Beth reached out a hand and he went to her, squatting on the floor beside them. Rick's arm snaked around Daryl's shoulders, and Beth's sweet mouth touched his.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Beth, then Rick

The house had a well, and a pumping system similar to the farm where Beth was raised. Daryl had it working in short time, and water flowed from the faucets. Both Daryl and Rick had gathered items from the nearby houses, and Beth was delighted to see soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and paste. A sheepish Rick had handed her a bottle of scented lotion, and an even more sheepish Daryl had shoved a bag of hair supplies at her, and stomped from the house.

It felt like Christmas. Yes, the water in the shower was cold, but she'd washed her hair three times, shaved, and simply stood there under the spray, so enjoying feeling clean, truly clean, for the first time since the prison.

The guys went after her, Rick teasing Daryl about washing off years of dirt, and she'd gone down to the kitchen, opening cans and fixing plates. The food was cold, too, but they'd cleaned every drop, grateful.

Later, they'd gone to the home's couch, all close and relaxed, Beth in the middle, and her men on the sides. It had been a long day, and as she drifted off, she heard them discussing her and was glad Rick told her story.

"She'd been drugged for while. Seems like she only remembers snippets of faces, she knows what they did to her, but doesn't really remember the experience."

Daryl, grunting, "Still. That's fucked up."

"Yes it is."

"Not remembering, it saved her mind, though," Rick said and Daryl's deep sigh felt like a caress down her side.

Even in her sleepy state, she could feel their calm, their acceptance, that her story wasn't as bad as they thought. They didn't need to know more than she'd shared, they didn't ever need to know.

She felt Rick reach across her, and Daryl reaching back, their clasped hands rested on her belly, as she finally drifted off.

...

As Beth and Daryl dozed beside him, Rick's thoughts were in a turmoil. These two next to him were so wanted, but Carl? And Judith? His son and daughter were his everything. How would he present this to everyone? Beth, her sleeping face more youthful than ever, would be problem enough for others to understand. But Daryl? Rick stared at the archer, his long, lanky body sprawled comfortably, and he swallowed hard. He'd never been homophobic, but this was different. Another man. What did that even mean?

And the three of them? Together?

His eyes traveled across Daryl's relaxed features, over the strong cords of his neck, down those gorgeous arms, across that flat belly, and lower, where Daryl's T-shirt disappeared into his pants. Could he touch another man like that? He thought of their kisses, the press of Daryl's body against his, and knew that yes, he wanted to touch Daryl. In fact, it was all he could think about.

Daryl cleared his throat and Rick looked up to find his brother's eyes watching him, watching Rick stare at his body.

Daryl lifted an eyebrow and Rick couldn't help but grin, "What the fuck are we doing?"

Daryl grinned back, handsome as sin, and Rick was amazed at the flood of emotion that filled him. He loved this man.

"I want to try something," Rick whispered and Daryl's expression grew serious.

"Whatever you want, Rick."

Rick gently stood, pulling Beth from him, and laying the sleeping woman on the couch cushions. Her sweet face was irresistible, and he placed one, then two kisses on her soft cheek. She stirred slightly, gave a tired smile, but went right back to sleep.

He stood up, stretching, feeling Daryl's eyes track his movements. It was so erotic to have the other man watch him, and even more erotic to see the heat in his eyes.

"Stand up," Rick whispered, and Daryl immediately was in front of him, "I'm sorry about earlier. I'd never want to hurt you."

"I know," and Rick could see that Daryl did know, as he moved in to kiss him. This kiss, quickly passionate, was much more calm than their last one, and both men were groaning, their tongues rubbing instead of battling. Rick could feel Daryl's hard-on pressed against his own and it felt amazing. He wrapped his arms around Daryl's neck, while Daryl's hands trailed down Rick's back, resting on his butt.

"Are you two really going to do this without me?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Beth, then Rick

They made their way to the master bedroom. At some point since arriving at the house, each of them had eyed the master bedroom, the massive width of its king-sized bed, and had wondered what the night may hold.

Now that the moment had arrived, each felt awkward, Rick was busy checking his python, while Daryl searched for the perfect spot for his crossbow. Beth perched on the end of the bed, watching the two of them, and their nervous behaviors charmed and relaxed her.

She stood, "It's such a warm night," and slowly pulled her T-shirt over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra. Both men stopped what they were doing, eyes focused on her. Beth thought of her earlier orgasm and wondered if she could come just from the erotic focus of their blue eyes. Unbuttoning her pants, she began to slowly work them down her legs, turning at the last minute, and bending from the waist to slip them from her ankles.

"You should take off your shirts," she whispered as she straightened, and both men quickly did. Clothing hit the floor, and the sheer maleness in front of her made Beth lose her breath. Both were gorgeous in their own way. Rick's muscles contained a wiry strength, and his chest and stomach were more toned than she would have thought. And Daryl, damn, his broad shoulders and chest tapered down to a narrow waist, his pants barely clinging onto his slim hips.

She stepped forward, taking each of their hands, and led them toward the bed. She gave Daryl a tiny nod and as his eyes flicked to Rick, she saw that he understood, tonight was going to be about Rick, the only reluctant one of their trio.

Climbing on the enormous bed, Beth immediately captured Rick's mouth, nipping at his bottom lip, and as Daryl's hands went to her breasts, she felt an orgasm building. With both of them touching her, she wasn't going to last long, "Now," she demanded against Rick's mouth, "fuck me now!"

Rick and Daryl undid their pants, quickly tossing them from the bed, and Rick grabbed Beth's panties, whisking them down her legs. Pulling her onto her side, he slowly entered her from behind, sliding as gently as possible into her slick, wet heat. Beth was having none of that, "Hard. Fast. Now Rick!"

...

Rick was sandwiched between them, Beth's sweet little pussy clenching down tightly and the hot heat of Daryl's length behind him. Feeling the hard press of Daryl's dick against his backside made him nervous at first, but Daryl was simply following the thrust of their bodies, not trying to do anything back there, so Rick focused on feel of both of them, cocooning him in pleasure for a moment before Beth's orgasm exploded. Her pleasure made her moan, and Rick thrust into her a few more times before finding his own release, the pleasure flowing in waves. As he finally stopped moving, so did Daryl, though Daryl was still hard as a rock against the curve of Rick's ass.

Rick withdrew from Beth's limp body, kissing her shoulder and neck, she moaned again, but remained collapsed as he turned his body to face Daryl, who backed up slightly to give Rick room to turn, and set his mouth to Rick's. The kiss was slow, and sweet, and Rick tried to pour all of his love for the archer into it. Breaking from that amazing mouth, Rick moved to Daryl's neck, growing aroused again at the taste and smell of the other man, gently setting his teeth on the strong cords of muscle along the column of Daryl's throat. The answering moan brought Rick's hard-on completely back to life, like some damn teenager. His hand traced the muscles of Daryl's arm, and then lower, down his side to his hip.

Lifting his head, he stared down at Daryl's perfect body, his large dick resting on that flat, ribbed abdomen. Rick swallowed, unsure what to do. Behind him, Beth stirred, curving her tiny body into his back, much like Daryl had, her head coming up to rest along side his neck. He knew she watched in fascination as he touched Daryl.

Rick trailed his hand up Daryl's side again, and back down to his hip. This time, the tips of his fingers brushed Daryl's shaft, which jumped wildly as Daryl gave a little moan. In his ear, Beth's breath had quickened, and she made an "oh" sound at the sight.

Daryl's eyes were pinned to the progress of Rick's hand, but when Rick paused, Daryl's gaze jumped to Rick's, "S'okay, man. You don't have to."

Three things spurred Rick to action, Beth's obvious arousal at watching them, the lie in Daryl's eyes, and his own curiosity.

"What do you think, Beth?" he whispered, "Should I touch him?" Her breathy affirmative moan made him bold, and he held Daryl's eyes as he reached down and took Daryl in his hand. The feel of silk over steel was fascinating, as was the pant of Daryl's breath, and Rick began to gently pump his hand.

Beth climbed over him, landing on Daryl's other side, as Rick pushed him flat on his back. Beth's face appeared by his handful of Daryl, and all three watched as Rick slowly worked him. Beth moved closer and began licking the tip as Rick pumped it toward her mouth. It had to be one of the most erotic things he'd ever watched, or done, and he leaned forward, too, and licked at the tip, at her tongue. Daryl groaned and tensed and as he came, Rick and Beth caught it all, the world narrowed to Daryl's jerking cock, the taste of his semen, and Beth's tongue sharing it all.

Rick reached for Beth, positioning her with her sweet ass in the air. As he slid deep, she cried out, and Daryl reached under and began stroking her clit. She came almost immediately, and her sweet, pulsating pussy pushed Rick over the edge. They collapsed, a tangle of bodies, and sleep was instant.


	9. Chapter 9

Beth woke to the sound of the shower, alone in the giant bed. She'd slept like a rock, and the bright glow of the sun told her she'd slept late, much later than a farm girl was used to sleeping. Stretching languidly, she felt deliciously sore, and the memory of the night before flashed heat through her and all she wanted to do was find her men again. On the floor, she found Rick's shirt and slipped it over her tiny frame, breathing in his scent.

In the bathroom, Rick was in the mirror, trimming his beard with a small pair of scissors. He wore a towel around his waist, and she was again struck at his beauty, all hardened male. His eyes met Beth's and he grinned, tossing the scissors down and lifting her for a hug, "Good morning, beautiful."

"Beth must be up," Daryl said, his head poking around the shower curtain, and the heat in his eyes made her breath catch. He shut off the shower as Beth backed slightly away from Rick, whisking the towel from his waist and turning to dry Daryl with it, almost swooning at the perfection of his body. He watched as she dried him off, his dick jerking crazily as she stroked its length with the towel. Rick growled softly behind her, and Daryl said, "Bed. Now."

Almost tripping over each other, they were all laughing as they jumped on the king-sized bed and ended up in a tangled pile of arms and legs. Beth pushed Daryl onto his back and straddled him, slowly sinking down on his heat. He was longer than Rick, but not as thick, and the sensation had her groaning. Rick leaned up on an elbow, watching intently as she rode Daryl, and that heady sensation of being the object of their focus sent Beth into her first orgasm. As she spasmed around him, Daryl grabbed her hips, fucking up into her, as Rick watched the two of them. Beth quickly felt the building of another orgasm, and just as Daryl came, so did she, collapsing on top of him, her face buried in his neck as she tried to catch her breath. She felt Rick move behind her, lifting her hips so that Daryl slipped out of her as Rick slid in. His thickness felt so different, but just as heavenly, and he fucked her from behind as she laid sprawled on Daryl's chest. Coming a third time, she wondered if there had ever been a luckier woman than her. Sandwiched between her men, she really doubted it.

...

On the third day in the house, Daryl returned from a hunt, two cleaned rabbits in hand, to find Beth crying at the kitchen table and Rick nowhere in sight. Dropping the rabbits in the sink, he quickly washed his hands and turned back to Beth.

Tears weren't something he really understood, yeah he'd cried over his brother, but once they'd come out, he'd been empty of them. He'd never cry over Merle again, choosing instead to focus on Merle's sacrifice, that his asshole brother had ended up being some kind of damn hero. Beth was a woman, and they seemed to cry over anything. She could be crying about her daddy, or she could be crying because the sky was cloudy. He didn't have much experience with women, but he knew his momma had cried a lot, and the women at the prison occasionally got all weepy for no apparent reason. This was Beth, though, his light, and he didn't like her hurting.

He cleared his throat and she didn't look up, staring down at the table, silent tears rolling down her sweet, little face.

"Um, you okay?" he whispered and still she didn't move. Fuck, what to do? He went to pat her on the shoulder, but her body language was tense, and the way she ignored him made him paranoid. Like maybe he had done something to her. Fuck.

Stomping to the doorway of the kitchen, he did the only thing he could think to do, "Rick!"

...

Daryl's cry was panicked, so Rick flung _Peterson's Guide to Edible Plants _across the room, snatched his python from the coffee table, and was facing Daryl in seconds, whispering, "Walkers?"

He saw fear on Daryl's face, something that didn't happen often, and immediately knew there was no danger. He relaxed, holstering his python, and grasping Daryl's upper arms. Daryl gave a little head flick back toward the kitchen, where Rick immediately saw the problem.

"Beth, what's wrong, sweetie?" Rick crouched down beside her chair, lifting her chin and turning her face toward him. With his other hand, he began wiping her tears, "Tell me what's wrong?"

"It's stupid," she whispered and Daryl heaved a long sigh over Rick's shoulder. With a small smile for them both, Rick stood, taking Beth into his arms and carrying her past Daryl to the couch, where he sat with her in his lap, stroking her long, blond hair.

"I bet it's not stupid," he whispered, "tell me what's wrong."

Daryl sat awkwardly beside them, wanting to be close, but completely out of his element.

"It's everything!" Beth wailed, "We leave here tomorrow and I finally got my period and I'm so selfish for wanting more time with you two while my sister and Carl and Judith have no idea where we are! And I'm scared that when we get back to the others, we won't be able to continue our relationship! Daryl will disappear into the woods and you'll be focused on your family again, and both of you will be too embarrassed at our love!"

Rick and Daryl met eyes, both of them had wondered _how_ this could continue once they reached Carl and the others. Rick thought he could make Carl understand, but Maggie and everyone else?

Rick continued to stroke her hair, "Well, I'm glad you got your period. We all need to be more careful as much as we've been going at it. As far as the others, we're going to figure it out."

Beth lifted watery eyes, as next to him Daryl hoarsely whispered, "You promise?"

Rick tugged Daryl's head next to Beth's, looking back and forth into their eyes, so full of love for them both, "I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

It was cold the next morning. Daryl had found them all heavy jackets and hats and they stood on the porch of their little love nest, sorting their bags. Daryl decided Beth's was too heavy and began transferring canned goods to Rick's pack, with Rick pretending to be bowed down from the weight as Beth giggled at his actions. Daryl loved seeing them like this, just for this brief moment. The mood was light, and ridiculously so, Daryl thought, considering the size of that herd, "Not busting anyone's bubble, but we've got a shitload of territory to cross before dark. Time to go."

Both Rick and Beth stilled, and Daryl fought a chill at the idea of losing either one of them. Rick could handle himself, and Beth was becoming a badass, too, he thought, remembering the 3 dead men at her feet in that clearing, but still, they were his whole world. Abruptly turning, he stomped down the porch steps, knowing they'd follow behind.

A lifetime in the woods had given Daryl an accurate internal compass, but he didn't know exactly what would be in their path, what detours they'd have to make. For the first hour, they moved swiftly and silently. Daryl was damn proud of the way Beth had learned to walk quietly and alertly. After the prison fell, and it had just been the two of them, he'd taught her as much as he could, and she was a quick learner.

Though his eyes were constantly searching for any sign of threat, his mind replayed the last three days. He'd never been happier in his whole sorry life, and a part of him expected them to realize just who they'd hooked up with and walk away from him. Another part of him could see them finding a safe place and maybe one day starting a family of their own. He loved Beth, the light that shone from her soul lit him inside and she was the most beautiful woman to walk God's green earth. And Rick, he admired everything about the man, and was still a little stunned at the sexual attraction. Other than the first night at their safe haven, Rick hadn't touched him, other than hugs and a kiss here and there with Beth in the middle. Daryl, on the other hand, constantly touched both of them in bed, and he knew Rick liked his touch, though he'd limited it to caresses and had yet to touch him _there_. Give the man time, he told himself, be patient. Even if it went no farther than exactly what they had now, the three of them were still perfection.

Hearing a branch crack to his left, Daryl stopped abruptly, holding up his hand, and smelled the walker before he spotted it. The walker appeared to be a teenage boy, missing most of its chest and one arm. As it got closer, Daryl also realized it was missing its lower jaw. Behind him came the sound of Beth notching an arrow, "Got 'em," and she knocked it dead, almost squarely between the eyes.

Rick whispered, "Good shot," nodding at Daryl to continue. Beth was beaming and the sight made Daryl's lips quirk a second before he remembered to focus.

They finally stopped mid-day, and Daryl reckoned they had about 3 more hours of travel ahead of them. The days were growing shorter and the nights longer. Even with the sun high above, the day hadn't warmed much. Daryl set about opening a few cans, while Beth dug out the water and Rick went on guard, circling the area. Beth and Daryl ate quickly, sharing the mix of cold chili, green beans, and peaches, leaving enough in each can for Rick, who went to quickly switch places with Daryl, but Beth stopped him, "I've got this. Take a breather."

They both smiled a little as she took over watch, Daryl watched Rick eat, the food disappearing fast. As Rick tilted the peach can to his lips, draining the last of the juice, a trickle went down the side of his mouth. Daryl swooped in, holding Rick's eyes, as he licked the peach juice from Rick's mouth and even from the corner of his beard.

Both of them were breathing harshly and Daryl closed the distance and settled his mouth on Rick's. The passion was instant, and even though Daryl knew they shouldn't be doing this out in the open, Beth was on watch, and he couldn't help but worry that once they reached the group, stoic Rick would be too swayed by family responsibilities to ever kiss him like this again. Rick's hands were in his hair, tugging it slightly and Daryl thought he might explode from this simple touch. He pulled his mouth away and wrapped the other man in a bear hug. Rick grunted, but hugged him back.

As they separated a bit, Rick's hands stayed in Daryl's hair and touched their foreheads together. Sadness was in both their eyes as they acknowledged, if only between them, how hard it was going to be.

As they stood, they clasped forearms, having one of their wordless conversations where they promised they would try, but both recognized it would be hard. When Rick's eyes flashed to Beth and then back to him, Daryl knew he was offering to step back, to let the two of them be together.

"All or nothing," Daryl whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

They paused at the rise over the priest's house, looking down at the mauled ground surrounding the fortress. How many thousands of walkers had passed through here, Rick wondered. He wasn't worried about Carl or Judith, in his heart he knew Michonne and the others had kept them safe. Before Beth and Daryl had exploded into his life, he'd often wondered about being with Michonne. Wondered if her love of Carl was enough to fix the heart Lori had broken. With Beth and Daryl at his side, it was hard to even recall Lori's face.

"All or nothing." Daryl's words reverberated through Rick's mind, and he knew they understood his pausing here. Knew that a part of each of them wanted to walk away and just be them. Rick got that, but his children were down there, his extended family, people he loved.

"We can't shove this in their faces," Rick began, turning to face them. As Beth often did when he spoke to them both, she curled into Daryl's side, and made it easy to talk to them as one. Their faces were expectant, waiting for his leadership, even now, in their trio, their trust that he'd figure it out for them weighing heavy on his shoulders.

"We have to take it slow. Get them to understand what we have. It's going to be hard. It's going to suck, but we can do this. I know we can."

Beth smiled at him, all youthful optimism, while Daryl just pinned Rick with his eyes, "Your kids come first."

"Yes," Rick sighed, scrubbing a hand over his beard, "yes they do."

"We'll make it work," Daryl said, but the lack of belief in his voice had Beth wrenching away, and shouting in Daryl's face, "I will never give up on the two of you! I will fight for us, damned if I won't!"

Rick caught her from behind, "Calm down, Beth, Daryl can't help it. He expects bad things to happen," And she did, going instantly still in Rick's arms, all of them thinking of their a.m. conversation a couple of days ago.

...

The sex had been mind-blowing, as always, and as had become their habit, they laid with Beth sandwiched between them. She was so petite that Daryl's hand easily touched Rick's shoulder and back, massaging any muscle within his reach. Beth had chattered, sharing her childhood at the farm, telling hilarious stories about herself and Maggie, about her brother and his overprotectiveness. About Hershel and her sweet, always-cooking mother. Rick and Beth had laughed, but soon Daryl's silence had triggered an awareness and Rick had met Beth's eyes.

"You should tell us about your childhood, Daryl," Beth suggested, as Rick shook his head at her, knowing that some subjects didn't need airing.

The archer had sighed deeply and at Beth's elbow prompting, shared a bit of his story.

"Never had no real relationship, just a woman here and there when I got drunk enough or Merle insisted. Never had no one love me or hold me like you do."

Rick reached out his own hand, tracing the scars on Daryl's back, prompting the other man to share even more, "Daddy liked to whoop us, hell, he liked beat us. Us and momma. Get a damn beating for not standing up straight, looking wrong, not bringing back some squirrel..."

This was one of the few times Rick had begun a kiss with Daryl. leaning up over Beth and pouring both his sorrow and his passion into it. As he pulled back, the love in the other man's eyes was almost his undoing.

"I had good parents, my dad did right by me, but no kid should ever have to suffer like you, Daryl."

"Fuck it," Daryl replied, tossing on his back and separating from them. Beth was having none of it, and molded to Daryl's side. Rick reached out, tangling his hand in the other man's hair.

Daryl's gravely voice, "I have this. I have you two. None of that shit matters anymore. As long as I have this."

...

"Come here," Rick demanded, holding out his arms. Beth instantly snuggled into his left, but the other man stood motionless, "Daryl," Rick prompted, "Come the fuck over here."

Daryl's eyes met his, bottomless pools of longing, and finally, he stepped into Rick's other arm.

"I love you both," Rick whispered, "I need you to believe in me."


	12. Chapter 12

Carl yelled, "I see them! It's them, and they've got Beth!"

Maggie ran and grabbed the binoculars from an excited Carl, following his finger to the small hilltop behind the house. Seeing her sister alive and safe with Rick and Daryl was a godsend, and she exchanged a happy hug with Carl, as the others gathered around, everyone buzzing with joy.

Michonne grinned as Carl handed her the binoculars. They passed them around to let everyone see. Maggie wanted to run to her sister, but the herd that had come through had terrified them all, and they were cautious about drawing attention to themselves.

Maggie focused on them again, "What are they doing?"

Michonne, "Probably scouting the area."

"No, they are just standing there. Talking."

"Let me see," Carl held out his hand and immediately upon focusing on the three, started giving a play by play, "They are talking. Dad doesn't look happy, Beth and Daryl are standing really close, and wow, Dad just picked her up! What's he doing? They are hugging!"

Maggie took the binoculars back, a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. They were hugging, all 3 of them. She supposed they'd been through a lot together, but she wanted them to come on! A minute passed, and she began to notice their arms weren't just holding, the 3 appeared to be stroking one another's hair and backs. That embrace looked... so intimate. Her little sister was swallowed between Rick and Daryl. What the hell?

She ignored Carl's outstretched hand, and hung the binoculars around her neck, walking briskly to the steel door, "Father, let me out."

"Let them come to us, child. We still see walkers and I would not risk your life."

"Let me out!" Maggie gritted through her teeth, and Gabriel nodded.

...

When Daryl suddenly jerked away, "Shit, Maggie's coming." Beth broke away, too, running down the hill towards Maggie, flinging herself into her sister's arms.

Seeing Carl in the open doorway, Rick started jogging down, so happy to see his boy again. Daryl hung back, knowing folks would be happy to see him, too, but some part of him always felt a little separate.

As he approached the priest's house, Michonne came out to greet him, "I never doubted our resident redneck hero would bring everyone back safe," she laughed, punching him lightly on the bicep.

"Yeah, well, that was one big ass herd. How long did it take to pass?"

"Weeks!" She exclaimed, and at his raised eyebrow, "well, it felt like weeks."

Then Carol was in front of him, trying to hug him, and then Glenn, until soon everyone stood outside, laughing and hugging.

He cared about these people, had even bonded with the newer ones like Abraham during their escape from Terminus. He was happy to see them again, but damn, he felt starved for his trio. Beth's beauty as she beamed at something Glenn said made him sigh, and Rick, holding Judith high in the air and laughing at her squeals... it was as it should be, all was right in the world again, but it wasn't the world he wanted anymore.

When Beth took Judith from Rick, crying suddenly at having back the baby she'd practically raised from birth, it was hard to not to cross over and share in her joy. It was hard to turn to the group, break up their happiness,"Everybody needs to get inside. Now."

...

They'd been back for over an hour and Beth could see Daryl starting to withdraw. He sat in a corner by himself, working on his arrows, only giving one word responses when anyone tried to include him. Rick and Beth told their story, well the pertinent details of escape and holing up waiting for the herd to pass, while the others shared the nightmare of being surrounded by a sea of walkers.

As Carol led some of the others to the kitchen to prepare a homecoming feast, Beth caught Rick's eye and tilted her head toward Daryl. He instantly understood, and they shared a silent conversation that they wouldn't lose him, that they would stop this. Being around the others made the prospect of the group founding out about their threesome not as worrisome to Beth, and she suddenly smiled hugely at Rick, as he smiled back. She went to take Judith from his arms and they stole a secret snuggle at they switched arms. Rick tilted his head and winked and laughter bubbled from her chest.

Rick crossed the room, stopping in front of Daryl and grasping his shoulder, "We need to check out the perimeters, come on."

The intensity of the relief on Daryl's face made Rick glad he was still able to pull the archer from his brooding and he trailed his hand down Daryl's thickly muscled arm, tugging him up.

As they brushed aside Abraham, Tyreese, and Glenn's offer to help with their scouting, neither noticed Maggie's sharp gaze, missing nothing.

...

Outside, with just the two of them, the tenseness seemed to leave Daryl, and after they rounded the priest's house, Daryl had flung an arm around Rick's waist, pulling Rick against him in a hard, side hug. Rick looked up at the taller man as Daryl rested his forehead against Rick's, "I'll be alright, man, I can wait. However long it takes. Even if you want to wait a long time, until the kids grow up, I can do it."

"Shit, not only is that not happening," Rick replied, "We'd both be way too old for Beth."

Daryl's chuckle was genuine, "It takes both of us to keep up with her as it is."


	13. Chapter 13

"So it seems like the three of them got pretty close out there," Glenn said, startling Maggie, who'd been peering around the side of the porch, watching as Beth, Daryl, and Rick stood talking, too closely for her liking. Three days had passed and it was driving her batty, the three of them.

"I can't figure it out," she whispered, leaning back onto Glen's shoulder.

"They just grew really close, I think, though I think Beth might be love with Rick," Glen replied.

Whipping around to face him, she shook her head adamantly, "No, see I think she's in love with Daryl. She's always touching him and smiling, ruffling his hair. Everywhere he walks, her eyes follow him, and those aren't little girl eyes she's making at him, either. I'm a little unnerved by the idea because of the age difference. And how surly he is. And yesterday, I saw him look back at her with that same look. Trust me, it's not something I've ever seen on that man's face. It made him look 10 years younger, almost boyish."

Glenn squeezed her hand, "I need to tell you something, just us, okay? Have you ever seen Daryl with a woman, in all this time? Even look at a woman? No. Daryl watches and touches no one but Rick," he looked toward the three in the yard, "Well, and now Beth."

Maggie stared at them too, "You think Daryl is gay? Poor Bethie. I'm telling you she's in love with him..." Beth had taken both of the men's hands and they were walking toward the hillside, "My head is going to split in two trying to figure this out!"

"Maggie, I know she's your baby sister, but she's a woman now. She'll figure it out for herself," Glenn soothed, and Maggie leaned back on on him.

"Glenn, why do you think she's in love with Rick?"

"Pretty much the same reasons you said with Daryl, it's how she watches him, those smiles."

"She won't tell me about her kidnapping. She goes straight to the part where they save her. It worries me. Before the prison fell, she used to tell me everything! And now, she's in love with one of them, and both of them are twice her age!" Maggie looked ready to cry.

Glenn tightened his embrace, "You'll just have to trust her. And let her know you support her. We know they're both good men, and will always protect her. She could do much worse than one of them."

As they watched the trio slip over the hill, Maggie said, "What about Rick? I'm not sure he's over Lori."

Glenn thought of the morning the day before, when he walked in the living room to find Daryl rubbing Rick's shoulders. Daryl had instantly stopped, grabbed his bow, and shot out of the house, but Rick had acted completely normal, asking Glenn about the old ambulance he'd been fixing up. They'd talked engine parts for a couple of minutes, but Glenn noticed Rick's eyes were repeatedly drawn to the door Daryl had stomped out of. He didn't say anything to Maggie, but he seriously hoped Beth wasn't in for a world of hurt.

...

Later that day, Beth was in the kitchen feeding Judith and was humming A Few of My Favorite Things. Maggie came up behind her and thought she heard the words, "And three mouths kissing" but then Beth was singing the original version, and Maggie joined in, much to Judith's glee. Rick and Michonne rounded the corner, and Maggie watched Rick closely, and sure enough, the look he exchanged with her little sister was way too knowing, way too intimate. As they all laughed at something Michonne said, Maggie contemplated Rick, he would provide for Beth, he was strong, a good father... Maybe Glenn was right, maybe it was Rick who Beth wanted, but damn, why was she looking at Daryl like that too? What if she were in love with them both?

...

The entire group filled Father Gabriel's living room and were in a heated discussion about Washington, whether they should spend the winter here. Father Gabriel loved the idea, his kindly old face making it clear to all of them that he loved their company. Rick and Abraham were doing most of the talking, Abraham wanting to push on now that the herd has passed, but Rick worried about the difficulty in traveling through snow and ice.

Since Maggie knew she and Glenn would always follow Rick and whatever decision he made, she tuned out the words and just watched her sister. Beth was sitting next to Daryl on the couch, and his arm rested behind her. She could see Beth's hair moving, and knew Daryl's fingers were in it. What the hell? Both of them watched Rick, nodding occasionally in agreement as he made a point, following his every move as he paced during his disagreement with Abraham. Beth head's rested on Daryl's shoulder, and out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw Daryl briefly tilt his own head to rest against Beth's. Beth's little hand snuck up to quickly squeeze his thigh, and Maggie began to quiver with outrage.

Oh my god, she thought, are they both fucking her?

...

"We need to talk, Bethie."

Beth turned to her sister, so ready to have this conversation, "What's up, Mags?"

Maggie's face was a storm of emotion, "I need to know what's going on with you and Daryl. With you and Rick."

Beth's fingers stopped their needlework, and she gently set Rick's now less-tattered shirt on the table beside her. Smoothing the cloth, she faced her sister, "I love them."

"What does that mean? I love them, too. What do you mean when you say that?" Maggie started to pace the tiny bedroom, her movements quick and jerky.

"I'm in love with them." Beth stated, standing to face her sister.

"Oh Bethie, what a horrible situation!" Maggie swooped in and hugged her, "You'll have to choose!"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Beth took Maggie's face in her hands, and looked deep into her sister's eyes, "Why do I have to choose?" Her sister's mouth hung open and she sputtered for a moment, "A threesome?"

...

Carl had been paying attention, too. His dad had always been loving toward his children, and once toward Carl's mother, but something had changed, not just with Beth, but with Daryl, too. He'd noticed the looks, the caresses of shoulders, the hugs. He knew his dad wouldn't tell him what was going on, so he went to the one person he could always talk to.

Michonne was on the front porch, slowing running a sharpening stone up and down her kantana, "Can I talk to you, 'Chonne?"

Immediately sheathing her sword, "You know it."

"Do you think my dad is gay with Daryl?"

Michonne's smile instantly dissolved, and she glanced around, noting no one in their vicinity, "Let's take a walk," she suggested.

...

Tyreese and Sasha's heads were also bent together, and Sasha said with awe, "All three of them? How would that even work?"

Ty's big, answering grin had her punching him in the stomach.

...

Carol finally found Daryl, bent over the old ambulance's engine, and pinned him with a stern look, "If you've ever had any respect for me, you'll tell what's going on between you, Rick, and Beth."

Daryl sighed, because he did love the older woman, "S'not so simple to explain."


	14. Chapter 14

At breakfast the next morning, snacking on fresh-baked bread, fried squirrel, and gravy, Rick announced, "Going on a run today. Taking Beth and Daryl."

There was a short, awkward silence. Rick saw several of the group exchange knowing looks, but no argued, or asked to join. Suddenly nervous, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them, "No arguments?"

Looking around the room, he noticed that most didn't meet his eyes, but Maggie tossed him a disgusted look before quickly looking away, Michonne grinned and winked, and Carl nodded at him, his young face set in a look of something resembling understanding.

"Well then," he said, "What are the rest of you doing?"

As the others listed their chores, he caught Beth's eye, and she grinned at him hugely, her sweet face beaming with happiness, so loving and perfect. Rick tilted his head slightly, acknowledging to her that yes, he wanted some time to love on her. He waited to meet Daryl's eyes, still a bit hung up on former societal standards, but when he finally did, heat surged to his loins. The archer clearly wanted some alone time, too.

He met Tyreese's huge grin, as Sasha nudged her brother, mouthing, "Stop."

...

It was bizarre, how the whole group followed them out, wishing them well on their run. Rick kept glancing around, seeing nothing on his people's faces but acceptance. All accept Maggie, who stood on the side of the porch, her back to them. And maybe the priest, who simply looked confused.

Rosita, Eugene, and Abraham stood in a little huddle, Washington still clearly on their minds. Bob's arm rested on Sasha's shoulder, and Ty's was around Carol's waist. He guessed a lot of pairing off was happening. Glenn nodded at Rick and he nodded back. Tara, who had Judith for the moment, seemed to have meshed well with the group, and Rick was glad he could always trust that his children were safe, even when he wasn't around.

"We'll be back before dark," he assured Carl, patting his son's shoulder and ruffling his long hair.

"It doesn't matter to me who you love, dad," Carl whispered.

Rick's heart soared, "Thank you, son."

The boy looked at the ground, "If you want to be straight with Beth or gay with Daryl, I don't care."

Rick lifted his son's chin, meeting his eyes, "What if I said I was somehow both, and it was only with them? Because of them?"

"I'm okay, regardless," Carl whispered, "Love is love. And Michonne says it's a rare find in this world."

...

They walked west, both away from the city and opposite the direction of the herd. Their mission was to find more vehicles, if possible, and some parts for Glenn's ambulance. As had become another habit, Daryl led, Beth followed behind, and Rick covered their backs. All three carried gas cans. Even though they hoped to find some time alone, watching for walkers, and other potentially dangerous humans, was their focus. The small neighborhood the priest suggested they scout for vehicles was as deserted as he said, though the good father had stripped anything useful from the houses. Rick was glad of the man's foresight, as his hoarding of supplies would get the group through the winter.

As Daryl began tinkering with a large van, Rick and Beth siphoned gas from cars, quickly filling all three gas cans.

"Think you can get it started?" Rick asked Daryl. At Daryl's nod, he and Beth emptied their cans into the van's tank. After several trips back to the other cars, the van's tank was full, and then Daryl got the engine to turn over. Two tires were flat, but Rick and Daryl exchanged them with 2 from an abandoned truck.

Beth passed out hand wipes and they cleaned up as best they could. "Where to now?" Daryl asked Rick.

"I'm going to die if I don't touch you two," Beth told them, and she pulled a box of condoms from her pack.

A part of Rick wanted to take her right there, hard and fast, against the side of the van, but he knew that was fantasy, "It can't be the 3 of us, someone has to stay on watch."

Though the idea wasn't quite what they longed for, they'd take whatever they could get.

...

They ended up in the first bedroom of the tiny house the van was parked in front of. The place was in shambles, the air musty, and the navy comforter was covered in dust, but they had quickly flipped it to the clean side.

Rick sat on the end of the bed, Beth standing between his spread thighs. His arms encircled her waist, and her finger were threaded in his hair.

"You should let me trim it. I like the curls, though."

"I let you do anything you want," he told her, lifting her t-shirt and pressing his lips to the soft skin of her stomach. She giggled, ticklish, but he continued to kiss her as he unbuttoned her pants, which she quickly kicked off. The tiny, pink panties were whisked away, and in one motion, he lifted her by the waist, laid back on the bed, and set her down on his mouth.

Moans poured from her throat as he stroked his tongue over her clit, back and forth, her hips began rocking and soon she rode his face, gasping, "Oh my God!" as she came.

He flipped her on her back, quickly unfastened his jeans, ripped open the condom, rolled it on, and slid into her heat in one slow movement. They groaned together, rocking slowly. He lifted to an elbow, cupping her breast with his other hand. Their kiss, a hot merging of tongues, intensified the passion and he began pumping faster, holding her beautiful blue eyes as they both came.

"I love you, Beth," he kissed her lips, then her nose, cheeks, and forehead.

"And I love you, Rick."

He left her sprawled on the bed, found Daryl as he'd left him, alert and watching. They grasped forearms, rested foreheads, their lips briefly brushing, then Daryl winked at him and disappeared into the house. Not going in there with them was hard, but their safety was always his top priority.

Rick loved to watch them, loved to be watched by them. It increased the erotica, made his arousal so intense. He'd been with Lori since right after high school, both of them virgins. Their sex life had been decent, he supposed, not bad, just not that interesting. If he tried to initiate sex and she shrugged him off, it had never been a big deal. The longer they'd been married, the less they kissed. In fact, they barely kissed at all, even during sex.

Both Beth and Daryl constantly stared at his mouth, kissed him whenever they got the chance, watched him in a way no one had ever looked at him. It was addicting, and he never wanted to let this feeling go.

The sex was an awesome part of their threesome, but the love glued them together. The love created the arousal, made his heart feel like it could burst from his chest.

...

Daryl found her still sprawled across the bed. Taking her naked body into his arms, he hugged her tightly. She loved him, he didn't doubt that, but he was still amazed that a woman so young, pure of heart, and beautiful wanted to bind herself to a man like him.

"I love you," he whispered. She took his face into her hands, "I love you too."

Their kiss, slow and sensual, followed the pace of his hands, shaping her breasts, slipping down to stroke her wetness. Her breathy moans let him know she was ready, though truthfully, Beth was always ready. He pulled back, opening his pants, sliding on a condom, and her sweet little pussy yielded as he fucked into her. He kept his earlier pace, having no desire to rush this heavenly feeling. Beth's arms held him tightly, and he lifted her butt in his hands, holding her still and refusing to speed up. She moaned, "You're killing me."

When they came, it was as slow and sweet as the lovemaking had been.

"You're amazing," he whispered.

"No," she breathed, kissing him lightly, "the 3 of us are amazing."

...

Both Beth and Daryl met Rick. Though the men wouldn't have minded some alone time, neither was willing to leave Beth alone. She'd argued for a moment, wanting them to have at least a few minutes, reminding them how capable she was, but they were united, and she quickly gave up. Instead they stood on the porch, their group hug satisfying all 3 of them.

Though they still had the obstacle of Maggie, all seemed right in the world. Rick kissed Beth, and then Daryl, "Let's find Glenn some parts."


	15. Chapter 15

"Hold up," Rick demanded suddenly, motioning to Daryl, who pulled the van to a stop.

"I'm on it," Daryl said, grabbing his crossbow and climbing out of the van, searching in every direction.

"What's happening?" Beth asked, reaching for her own crossbow.

Rick leaned forward, "This section of the road was covered in debris when we crossed it this morning. Look now. A vehicle came through here, see how everything is pushed to the sides? It was blown there. Considering we're only a minute from the father's, best be cautious."

The priest's house sat in a shallow valley, so they were able to look down on it. Sure enough, three large trucks were parked in front of the house. Rick could make out shapes on the other side, and as Beth handed him the binoculars from her backpack, Rick could see the camouflaged men, high-powered rifles trained on the house.

"Fuck," Rick said, handing the binoculars to Daryl, who looked and then added, "Fuck's right. I count 8, you?"

Rick looked again, "Yeah, and there may be more in the trucks, I can't tell."

"I just saw movement around the back, yeah, they're spreading out. 2 left the truck, now 3. So I'm thinking maybe 10 men, 5 behind the trucks and another 5 around the house," Daryl watched through the binoculars, handing them back to Rick. A minute later, he handed them to Beth, who's breath caught in her throat at the number of heavily armed men.

Rick and Daryl kneeled on the ground, and Rick took a stick and drew a plan in the dirt, "With your bow's range, I want you here, Daryl, take out this one," he tapped the corner of the house, and then the back, "and this one. Beth, look at me, I need to know you can do this."

At her resolute nod, he tapped the dirt on the other corner, "You can take this one, from this ridge here. If you get the chance to take another, any, do it. As many as you can."

"I've got this," she whispered, staring intensely at the dirt.

Rick continued to outline his plan, and he and Daryl repeatedly checked the binoculars and tapped at the dirt, "I'm pretty sure we've got the advantage."

Beth had been silent, letting them think and plan, but that sounded crazy, "How in the hell do we have the advantage?"

"They don't know we're out here."

...

Beth was scared half to death. Not for herself, but for her men, for her family trapped below. She hated the three of them separating, but knew it was a strategic move. Besides that, she completely trusted Rick to do his best to get them all out of this. And if anyone could do that, it was Rick Grimes. Daryl was his right hand, and she would do her best to help them. But damn, she was scared.

She'd lost sight of them once they'd briskly hugged, and headed off to their assigned locations. Beth was behind a tree, bow strung, waiting for Rick's signal. Keeping her eyes focused on the ridge where he'd be, she rolled her shoulders and neck. How messed up had the world become? The dead walked the earth, creating danger everywhere, but the humans? The number of seemingly evil ones that had survived?

She didn't allow herself to think about the hospital often, about the number of men that had entered her cell. She had been mostly drugged, floating in a hazy numbness, but one man in particular would pinch her, hard enough to bring her from her daze, hard enough to bring her back to reality for a moment, that son of a bitch had purposely hurt her.

She and Rick had discussed her experience several times, but she knew it eased his mind to think she remembered nothing but faces. But the sweet girl who'd been kidnapped was now dead to others. Only her men and her family mattered now. No one else was to be trusted again.

The flash of Rick's mirror. Swiveling around the tree. Aiming at her target, a tall, black-headed man. The swoosh of her arrow. One man down. Other men falling as Rick and Daryl joined the fray. The echoing sound of Rick's gunfire and answering shots from below. Setting another arrow, searching among the now-hidden, or ducking, living men, trying to find the perfect target. A man behind the truck, raising to aim in Rick's direction. Her arrow through his head. Mechanical movements, setting another arrow, shoulders straining to draw back the string, posed and ready for any chance to kill, Beth Greene was a force to be reckoned with.


	16. Chapter 16

Per Rick's instructions, Beth held her ground, even after the gunfire ended. She watched as Rick and Daryl, both running low to the ground, met beside the trucks, quickly searching them, then as they rounded opposite sides of the house, searching the area for any living threat. She lost sight of them, but since she truly believed all the men were dead, her shoulders relaxed. When Rick came back to the porch and banged on the door, repeatedly, she began to worry. Why weren't they opening the door?

Daryl joined him and still nothing. The steel that wrapped the bottom story of the house, the steel that had protected the group from that massive herd, now blocked them from their family. Her men backed away, staring at the fortress. There was only one window without steel, in the center of the second floor. She watched as Rick climbed on Daryl's shoulders, gained his footing, and stood, attempting to reach the window, but they couldn't gain the height they needed to reach the window.

Perhaps even more terrifying than the lack of response from their family were the number of walkers surging to the lower ridge! Jesus, help us, she prayed, and even though Rick had yet to signal to her, Beth could stand it no longer. Mocking the crouching run of Daryl and Rick, Beth started down the hillside.

...

"The window's broken, there's a hole in the top panel." Inside Rick could hear them, many voices raised, but couldn't make out their words, "Maybe once the father sealed the doors, he went upstairs and was shot through the window!"

Daryl grunted, "Still, doesn't everyone know the combination?"

"Yes, shit I don't know why they aren't opening it, Daryl. Maybe the father changed the combination?"

"That doesn't make sense, Rick," Daryl reasoned. Rick was in a panic, he couldn't reach his children. Though they couldn't make out individual voices, they could easily hear the panicked tones from behind the door.

When Rick began banging crazily on the door again, Daryl grabbed the shorter man around the waist and manhandled him away, further down the porch, "That's not helping, Rick! Think man! I fucking need you to snap out of it and think!"

Rick stilled, nodding his head, and Daryl released his hold, "Think man. You can figure this out."

Behind them, Beth's sweet voice began chanting, "Shhhhhh. Be silent. Shhhhhh. Be silent," over and over against the steel door. And finally, the voices did stop, other than the faint wail of Judith's crying. Ty's voice, big and booming, came distantly, but clearly through the door, "We've been gassed."

"Beth, tell them to go to the back of the house."

Beth started again, "Shhhh...", but pointed wildly over her shoulder.

"Well fuck it all," Daryl said as he saw the approaching herd, "Tell them now, Beth!"

He and Rick ran for the big trucks of their attackers, "Get that one ready to go!" Rick yelled. As he climbed in the first one, he saw Beth run to hop in with Daryl.

The keys were waiting in the ignition. Rick backed the truck up, almost to the approaching walkers, hooked his seatbelt, and floored it, straight to the house, ramming it at close to 80 mph.

...

"Oh my God," Beth screamed, watching the man she loved drive head first into sure death. The impact punctured the steel, and somehow Rick backed up the wrecked heap. As everyone spilled from the house, their eyes swollen shut and blinded, Beth and Daryl jumped out, leading the crying, stumbling people to the back of the truck. It was a squeeze, but as Daryl slammed the tailgate, Beth took the wailing baby Judith from Carol's arms, running back to the front seat, yelling at Daryl, "Get Rick!"

But Daryl was already on it, straining at the warped door of the pickup. The walkers drew closer, and within a minute, they'd reach the helpless group crammed in the back of her pickup. Daryl screamed at her, "Get the hell outta here, Beth!" but she couldn't do it. Judith's cry was full of snot and heavy congestion, and the baby couldn't seem to catch her breath.

"We're not leaving you!" Beth screamed back, but moved into the driver's seat, straining her neck to watch the walkers' progress. They seemed to be moving faster than she'd ever seen them move. She set Judy down, and reached across to open the passenger door.

With seemingly super human strength, Daryl finally wrenched open the mauled truck's door, grabbed Rick in his arms, and dashed to their truck. They were barely inside before Beth floored her it, walkers grasping at the side of the truck's bed. She hit one, then two walkers, blood spraying up to coat the windshield. She had learned to drive, years ago, but only around the farm. With her vision blocked, she pulled from her memory the lay of land, and laid on the gas. When Daryl reached across and turned on the wipers, she almost sobbed in relief, but it wasn't the time. Beth Greene had people to save.

"Just tell me that he's alive," she panted, keeping her eyes straight ahead, but she'd seen the blood the completely coating Rick, his entire body, it seemed, and didn't respond when Daryl whispered harshly, "His heart's still beating. That's all I got."


	17. Chapter 17

Daryl directed Beth back to the van they'd salvaged earlier. He'd never felt pain like this, no punishment his twisted father had ever conceived qualified, and even Merle and Hershel's deaths hadn't torn him at his core like this. If Rick died, he thought he might die too, his heart unable to take such a loss. Rick was in Daryl's arms, his unconscious body a dead weight, and Daryl had to force himself to calm down, to do what Rick would do. What would Rick do? First, he'd get everyone to safety.

Daryl repeatedly rubbed the sleeve of his shirt over Rick's face, slightly relieved that most of the blood came from a head wound. The blood was drying, becoming sticky, and for that reason, Daryl began to feel a little better, "It's mainly a head wound. Those bleed all to shit."

"He's lost a lot of blood," she replied, never looking over, concentrating on keeping the truck on as smooth a path as possible, and maneuvering through the trees. They met the road where they'd left the van, and soon it appeared before them.

Poor Judy's cries had weakened, and as Beth stopped the truck, she immediately focused on the baby, "Shhh, little angel, it's Beth. I've got you, sweet girl."

"We've got to get them in the van, they can't be all out in the open like that," Daryl told her. A chorus of sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing voices sounded behind them, and Daryl reached for Judith, laying her on Rick's chest, while he supported her diaper-clad bottom, "I've got these two. Go ahead, Beth."

She leapt into action, leading them one by one to the van. Abraham was the last, and Daryl was relieved to overhear him telling Beth that this was tear gas, and the effects would fade soon. Daryl wiped Judith's dripping nose on his other sleeve, and the baby did seem to be breathing a slight bit easier.

Beth was back, her sweet face in the open door, staring heavily at Rick and Judith in his arms, "Abandon the truck? Or you drive it and I drive the van?"

"You take the baby, I'll take Rick," and Beth nodded, taking Judy from Rick's chest.

Her worried heart clenched, as he turned Rick's slack, bloody face in his hands, resting their foreheads together. Pain swamped her, his action reminded her of animal behaviors she'd seen on the farm, like when one horse nudged at a sick or dying comrade in an attempt to help them. She leaned in and kissed them both along the temple.

"Daryl?" she whispered, he looked up and met her eyes, and she saw his total misery, "I promise you he will be okay. We'll get him somewhere safe. He'll wake up and we'll all be together again."

He looked at her with such hope that suddenly she felt their ages were reversed, so she repeated, "I promise."

"I believe you," and he did.

"Where to?" She asked, focusing back on their situation. Daryl hesitated, they had thought they'd have the whole winter to figure it out. Their emergency meeting place was the little neighborhood the 3 of them had visited this morning, it was close, and everyone needed a chance to get over the gassing. Rick needed to be thoroughly checked for injuries. The neighborhood was still too close to this herd, but Daryl doubted the dead would be able to follow the path Beth had taken.

"For now, back to the neighborhood."

...

They went into one of the bigger homes, Daryl carrying Rick to a large dining room table, laying Rick flat, and carefully removing his shirt. Beth took over the group, leading everyone inside. In a small closet, she found some sheets, ripped them into strips, and pressed the cloth into each persons' hands. Their eyes were still swollen shut, but being able to properly blow their noses seemed to help, and Abraham assured everyone the effects of the tear gas would fade very soon. They looked a mess, but thankfully the baby had passed out from exhaustion, and after a cleaning Judy's little face as best she could, Beth put her on top of blanket on the floor in the dining room.

"Found this, 'bout the only thing the priest left," Daryl held up a bottle of whiskey, "We can clean his cuts. I think the seatbelt broke his ribs again."

Beth pressed her ear into Rick's chest, listening to his breathing. There was no rattle or wheezing, signs that his lungs were fine. Taking a bottle of water, she began cleaning the small cuts on his face and hands. The deep cut on his forehead made her pause, it needed cleaning, but the bleeding had stopped, and she didn't want to reopen it. She decided to wait and let Carol or Bob tend to it later, when they could see again. Considering he was still unconscious, that head wound was serious, and was her main worry.

The thick swollen line the seatbelt had slashed across his chest was her other worry, but there was nothing to do other than let it heal. She leaned down, placing feather-light kisses wherever Rick had a tiny scratch, and with each kiss she prayed, for both his life and his health. Watching her, Daryl felt even more confident Rick would pull through, and he imagined that every touch of her lips was healing.

While she continued her prayers, Daryl went to the priest, "Did you see any medical supplies, first aid, anything that you didn't take that we might be able to use?"

The priest shook his head.

...

Most had left without anything. They'd kept loaded packs by the front door, and Glenn had snagged two, Abraham one, Carl one, and Ty another. As the group sat and waited for the effects of the tear gas to wear off, Daryl inventoried their meager supplies. 6 guns, 5 boxes of ammo, 2 baby bottles, some baby and female clothing, 8 cans of food, 4 knives, and 15 bottles of water, and few other miscellaneous items.

"We really need to wash," Abraham told him, "Full showers and soap, but at the very least our hands and faces."

"Father, any ideas? A creek close by or something?" Daryl asked.

"Not that I know of," Gabriel wheezed.

Fuck! Daryl hated inactivity. He hated everyone sitting around suffering, hated Rick on that table... "Everybody sit tight, I'm going to see if I can find some water."

Beth was now singing softly to Rick, something about coming back to her arms. Daryl wrapped his own around her, resting his chin on top of her blond hair, "I've got to find enough water for everyone to wash up. Abraham said showers, but that ain't happening. You okay here?"

"Of course, I've got this," and he knew she did. Turning her is his arms, he kissed her hard, "love you, Beth."

"I love you both," she told him, watching as strode to the front door and disappeared into their dangerous world.

...


	18. Chapter 18

Everyone could see again, though most continued to sit, depressed and sullen. Carol and Bob examined Rick, coming to the same conclusions Beth had, two broken ribs and a concussion. They also agreed about the head wound. It could use several stitches, but they had no way to stitch it. They let her slip a small pillow under his head, and discussed moving him into one of the bedrooms.

"He needs to sleep, Beth, that's all, but we have to watch him," Bob told her.

"I'm not leaving his side," she replied.

"That's what started this shit, Bethie," Maggie's swollen face looked pitiful.

"What started what shit?"

"You running off to fuck two men, men we needed back at the house to protect us all!" Maggie yelled, pushing Beth away from the table, up against the wall.

"That's not fair..." Beth started, but the sting of Maggie's slap made her ears ring.

"The three of you! It makes me sick! Worried about running off and hiding whatever kinky shit they've got you doing! I want to vomit just thinking about it!"

"What Rick, Daryl and I do is none of your damn business," Beth replied, working her jaw, rubbing at the swollen flesh.

"You made it my damn business when you shoved it in my face! In all our faces! You're too stupid to realize that you're being used. They don't want you, they want each other! You're the catalyst, allowing them to be together!"

Beth had enough, and using her newfound strength, slammed her fist into Maggie's jaw, uncaring as her sister slumped to the floor. Beth stood over her, rubbing her knuckles, and shaking with fury.

"First, if we'd been at the house, we would have been gassed too, and those men would have killed us all. Rick and Daryl took on 10 men to protect you all! Rick is laying on that table because he risked his life to ram a truck into the house. All 3 of us saved your sorry ass today, Maggie."

"You need to think, Beth..." Maggie started.

"Get out of here! Leave his presence! You aren't worthy!" Grabbing her sister's shirt, she drug Maggie to the doorway, and glared up at Glenn, who stood with hands splayed, warily watching his tiny sister-in-law.

"Everybody out!" she yelled, and just like that the room was empty except for her and Rick's unconscious form. Judith was gone from her blanket, but Beth knew she was safe. Her breath was harsh, but it calmed soon. _Maggie doesn't matter, judgmenta_l _bitch_, she thought. Focusing back on Rick, she picked up his hand, held it to her cheek, and started humming softly.

...

After following the signs for over an hour, Daryl had finally found a little creek. It was only a few feet deep, but the current was strong, and they could all get clean. Even better was the cabin close by, it wasn't as big as the house, but was better hidden, and he found no recent signs of humans or walkers.

He made good time returning to the group. Though he glanced toward the others and noted their improvement, he went straight to the dining room, where Beth stood next to Rick.

"No change?"

"No, but Bob and Carol examined him, and agreed with my thoughts."

"I found us a cabin, close to a creek, a good place to hole up until he's awake and can travel. Give us some time to figure out a plan."

She started to turn toward him, then ducked her chin strangely. A brief flash of his mother and how she hid her face after a beating had Daryl grabbing Beth's chin. The whole left side of her face was swollen, including the side her lip, "What the hell happened?"

"I slapped her." Maggie stood in the doorway, "Because she's stupid and naive and someone needed to shake some sense into her."

Daryl's rage was instant, "So you thought you'd knock it into her?" He got in Maggie's face, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Glenn stepped in front of Maggie, "Back up, Daryl. This is hard on her."

"Fuck you, Glenn, I ain't ever hit a woman in my life, but if it's so hard on her that she thinks she needs to hit someone, take it out on me, Maggie, but don't ever touch Beth again."

Beth hugged him from behind, and he immediately turned into her arms. She ran soothing hands up and down his back, "I'm fine. And I knocked the hell out of her just like you taught me. Judgmental bitch."

Maggie's gasp brought a grin to Daryl's face and he chuckled into Beth's hair, "I should have known you'd handle it."


	19. Chapter 19

They'd stayed the night, but set off early for the cabin Daryl had found. No one was talking, and not just for safety. The fight between Maggie and Beth had changed the group dynamic. No one knew what to say. Daryl saw it whenever he met anyone's eyes. Their leader was unconscious, most were were still nauseous from the gassing and lack of food, and everything just felt strange, well stranger than normal. Losing the father's house was a huge blow, reminding them that they were never safe, anywhere, at any time. Daryl tried to be understanding, knowing that craving safety was human nature, but damn, these people had so much to learn.

It was a cold day and hardly anyone had on proper clothing. The trees were almost bare of leaves, and the heavy, dragging steps of the group were so loud that Daryl wanted to yell at them to pick up their damn feet. Instead, he led them deeper into the woods.

They'd driven the vehicles as close as Daryl thought they could get. At Ty's suggestion, Glenn had removed the spark plugs. They were easy to reinsert if they needed to bug out quickly, but rendered the truck and van inoperable in case someone tried to take them.

Ty and Abraham carried Rick on a makeshift stretcher. Bob wanted him to stay flat. Daryl didn't particularly like leaving Rick to the others, but he knew the other men would take care of him. Besides, only Daryl could lead them to the cabin. Beth walked with Carl, and though he couldn't hear them, he saw Carl smile up at her several times. If anyone could make Carl understand their threesome, it was Beth.

Tossing their meager belongings in the cabin, most of the group headed for the creek as Ty and Abraham took watch duty. Daryl and Beth settled Rick in one of the cabin's bunk beds. Though he was still breathing fine, he'd been unconscious for too long and Beth's optimism was waning.

"Hey," Daryl nudged her, "get that look off your face. I'll lose my damn mind if you start worrying. You have to keep me together, Beth."

The vivid blue of her eyes pierced him, and he felt the now familiar anger of the slap mark on her face, damn he wanted to kill Maggie, "I'm not worried," she lied, and he tugged her closer for a hug.

"I'm gonna get a fire going. Ain't nobody clothed right."

He felt her nod and sighed, pulling back to gently kiss her cheek. He couldn't look at Rick's slack face, but he patted the other man on the thigh and went out to find some kindling. The cabin's fireplace had been built with cooking in mind, so Daryl was anxious to get a warm meal in everyone's bellies. There was a decent woodpile stacked under the porch, maybe a couple of weeks worth, but enough for them to figure out their next step. That's if they didn't have to bug out of here in a hurry.

Within 10 minutes, the cabin's big fireplace was roaring with a fire and Daryl paused for a moment to let the heat settle into his bones. With Rick out of service, everyone looked to him to lead. He never wanted this damn role, but Rick would want him to step up, so he did. As the others started coming back from the creek, they thanked him for the fire, and huddled around it. He grunted back at them. Though they looked frozen from their dip in the creek, everyone's spirits appeared higher, and they were looking around the cabin with interest.

Daryl thought maybe the place had been used as a Boy Scout camp. The back wall was lined with bunk beds, 10 in all, which would suit their group fine, considering a few people would have to remain on watch at any given time. Daryl had briefly glanced in the tall cabinets when he'd first scouted the place, and counted 20 cafeteria-sized cans of vegetables, plus invaluable things they'd lost, like pots, pans, and can-openers.

Seeing the whole creek group in front of him, Daryl demanded, "Not a one of you took over watch from Abraham and Ty? Damn people, don't you think they want to wash too?"

Shaking his head in disgust, he barked out, "Bob! Glenn! You're with me, now!" and stomped from the cabin, knowing they'd follow. After sending Ty and Abraham to the creek, Daryl pinned Bob and Glenn with a hard look, "Protect them with your lives. I'm going to find us some meat."

...

Beth could hardly hold her eyes open, exhaustion weighed so heavily. Carl appeared beside her, holding his baby sister, "Get some sleep, Beth," he told her, nodding at the bunk next to Rick, "We'll watch our father and wake you if there's any change."

"Just for a little while, maybe," she ruffled Carl's hair and kissed little Judy on the forehead. Her head barely touched the mattress before she was sound asleep.

...

Later that afternoon, Glenn and Maggie sat on the last bunk, almost as far from Rick as possible.

Glenn was trying to reason with her, whispering, "What do you want to do? Strike out on our own? Never see your sister again because you disagree with her love life?"

"Of course not, but how much will it hurt her when they finally decide they don't want her?"

"I don't understand your point, Maggie. They are both obviously in love with her, too. I think you're way too hung up on the gay aspect. I know you're not homophobic, so I think you're using it as an excuse."

"Let them be gay, I don't care! Just leave Bethie out of it. Can you imagine what dad would think? I can't get his voice out of my head, telling me to do something, to stop this."

Maggie's eyes filled with tears. The bruising from Beth's punch had blackened her eye, and she looked so pitiful that Glenn wanted to cry too, "Look. Hershel was a practical man, and yes, he would have fought it at first, but I think in time, he would have noticed how good they are for each other. Beth is so amazingly strong now, we have to trust her, Maggie. She's the only family you have left. Don't lose her over this!"

He could see she was listening, weighing the thought of losing her sister against the thought of her sister's threesome, "I'm going to try," she finally said and that was good enough for Glenn.


	20. Chapter 20

The woods around the cabin were full of game. Deer tracks, rabbit dens, and squirrels gathering the last of their winter stash. Daryl had 8 rabbits, some were pretty lean, but plenty to make a hearty stew. He cleaned them deep in the woods, well away from the cabin. There were dog tracks everywhere, so Daryl buried what they wouldn't eat. He figured the dogs were wild by now, and didn't want them hanging around a food source. Stopping by the creek, he cleaned up some, rinsing the rabbits.

As he entered the clearing in front of the cabin, he was pleased to see activity, people doing shit instead of sitting on their asses looking shell-shocked. Yeah, he hadn't been gassed, but he doubted he'd be such a pussy about it once the effects wore off. And yes, they'd lost their safe haven, but didn't that always happen? Get used to it already.

A small group was sharpening stakes, and others were putting them around the cabin. Carol, Tara, and Rosita had a small, smokeless fire going and were boiling water, and Eugene carried a steaming bucket into the house.

Carl ran to greet him, laughing happily at the rabbits, informing Daryl, "Dad woke up! He drank some water and Bob looked at his eyes with a flashlight, listened to his heart and everything and said he'd be fine! He went back to sleep, but he wanted to know where you were."

Daryl felt like a thousand pounds were lifted from his shoulders, he handed the rabbits to Carl, and practically ran in the house. Beth was perched on Rick's bunk, but as she saw Daryl, she ran straight to his arms. He swung her around in a few circles, hell, he felt like dancing. Not that he would, but still. Looking over her shoulder, he saw they'd wrapped Rick's ribs. His face had a bit more color to it, too.

"He's going to be fine," Beth said happily, and uncaring of their audience, Daryl kissed her deeply. She apparently didn't care either as her legs started to lift around his waist. He caught her thighs and pushed them back down as she hung from his neck, and whispered in her ear, "You little horny thing. I'll take care of you later."

She released her hold, dropping to the ground, and grinning up at him.

He knelt by Rick, and pressed his head to Rick's chest. The strong beat of his heart, plus the easy flow of his breathing may have been the best sound he'd ever heard, Daryl thought, until a raspy, "You trying to smush me?"

Daryl's eyes leapt to the sleepy blue of Rick's. The joy that filled him was stunning. Rick reached up a weak hand, grasped the back of Daryl's head, and pulled their foreheads together. Daryl reached out a hand for Beth. When she knelt beside him and kissed both of their cheeks, all was right in the world.

Within a minute, Rick was sleeping again, but Daryl and Beth stayed by his side.

...

They'd added the rabbits to one of the huge cans of mixed vegetables. Michonne had found some spices and the stew was rich and heavenly. Daryl instructed second helpings, and as they scrapped bowls clean again, he told them to eat their fill. Yeah, they should be keeping some for the morning, but they also needed their strength and Daryl had come up with a plan.

...

"Can I talk to you?" Maggie asked. Beth had spent a lot of time thinking while she cared for Rick, and she wasn't mad at Maggie anymore. She knew the hateful things Maggie had said had come from Maggie's fear.

Beth nodded and Maggie sat beside her, "I'm going to be honest. I may never be comfortable with your love life. I may always worry that you're going to have your heart broken. But I love you, Beth, and if this is what you really want, if you believe they love you for you, I won't try to stand in the way."

Beth bit back the mass of replies that popped into her head, instead she inclined her head, "Thanks," and when Maggie went to hug her, Beth hugged her back.

"Besides," Maggie sniffed, tears in her voice, but she teased, "With that mean right hook of yours, I'm scared of you now."

Beth giggled, and hugged Maggie back harder. _Damn right_, she thought.


	21. Chapter 21

Just before the sunset, Daryl grabbed Beth's hand and led her off into the woods. She was giddy with happiness, Rick had awakened, Maggie smiled at her again, and Daryl was dragging her he-man style through the woods. What more could a girl ask for? When he suddenly stopped, and with no warning, shoved his hand down the front of her pants, she came almost immediately, shuddering wildly against his fingers; within seconds, both of their pants were down, and they were fucking wildly against a tree, their need so great that they lost perception of the world around them, Beth lost count of how many times she came, but when Daryl finally came inside her, she fell to her knees.

Daryl was chuckling softly, she quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

"I think a walker could have bit us just then and we'd kept on fucking."

She laughed back up at him, "That's why we need all 3 of us. A lookout."

"It was stupid as hell, but damn worth it," he replied, dropping to his knees beside her, "I was scared, Beth, that we'd lose him."

"I know, baby," she took him into her arms. Their kiss, though not without a subdued passion, was more about love and joy. And the taste of each other. And affirmation of their love.

The sun set just then, and hastily reassembling their clothing, they made their way back to the cabin, back to Rick, back to their family.

...

It was the middle of the night, during Rosita and Tara's watch shift, when Daryl stirred to the sound of a slight cough from Rick. Instantly he knelt by Rick's bunk, lifting Rick's head with one hand, and putting a bottle of water to Rick's lips with the other.

Rick sipped at the water, then laid back on the pillow. Light snores resounded from the room, as Daryl carefully climbed in the bunk with Rick, kissing him softly.

Daryl put his mouth next to Rick's ear and whispered, "I can't lose you, man. Don't you ever do anything like that ever again."

"I'm fine. I lived. I'll be by your side for a while to come yet. I'm glad you were there to get everyone to safety. When Beth described you getting me out of that truck, you'd think superman had saved me."

"Wasn't gonna leave you in there. I would have died first," he kissed Rick again, just a soft press of lips.

"You smell like Beth," Rick whispered, "damn you smell good together."

"Shhhh..." Daryl said, stroking carefully past Rick's ribs to his abdomen. As the other man's breath quickened, Daryl unzipped Rick's pants, and finally, for the first time, wrapped his hand around Rick's thick dick.

Rick moaned softly, and Daryl knew he shouldn't be doing this, not now when Rick was weak and recovering, not now in a roomful of sleeping people, but the feel of Rick overrode his caution and he began to pump his hand, while sliding awkwardly back on the bed, trying his best not to hurt Rick, and to wedge his tall body into such a small amount of space. He had one purpose, and discomfort was not going to stop him.

His buried his face into Rick's open crotch, breathing deeply of the smell that was all Rick.

A little sound from Rick had Daryl looking up, "You hurting?" he whispered, "I'll stop."

"Don't you dare," Rick whispered back and gave a little groan as Daryl took Rick in his hand again. Slowly Daryl sank his mouth onto Rick's hardness, salty, silk over steel. It was like dying and going to heaven. A little hand slipped next to his, and there was Beth, lit with excitement. She held Rick's dick at the base as Daryl sucked him, and when Rick came, they licked it up together, kissing deeply. When they went to kiss Rick's cheek, he was sound asleep. Beth quickly readjusted his pants and smiled up at Daryl.

Wordlessly, they climbed together into Beth's bunk, and drifted happily off to sleep.

...

The next morning, as Rick continued to sleep, the group shared another massive can of mixed vegetables. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the stew the night before, but no one complained.

"By tomorrow, most of those walkers should have cleared out of the area 'round the father's house. A few of us are gonna take the vehicles and fill them with supplies. We've got to have food, more clothing and coats and stuff. I'm taking Michonne, Glenn, and Abraham. We fill up the truck and the van and head back here. I figured out a closer place we can park them, really hidden. We bring back a week's worth of supplies, leave the rest there, and then figure out a plan for the rest of the winter."

Everyone nodded, and though Daryl appreciated them not bitching, he felt like an imposter.

...

Rick woke to the sound of Daryl instructing the group. Even though his head still pounded and his ribs ached, he smiled to know Daryl was handling things. He was thirsty and needed to piss something awful, but he waited until Daryl was finished speaking. When he saw Daryl put on his coat, and head toward the crossbow, Rick called out, "Daryl?"

It was truly amazing how quickly the other man could move! Almost instantly Daryl was on his knees beside Rick's bunk, "What's wrong?" Daryl wore his heart in his eyes, and Rick wondered if he'd ever get used to it, all that emotion, reserved for him, for him and Beth.

"I'm fine. Feel great. Just need some help to go outside," and Daryl helped him sit up, and then stand. His knees and back popped from being unused, and Daryl whispered, "Old man. You know we might really be helping each other to the bathroom someday."

"I hope we have the chance to get that old," Rick said, grasping Daryl's arm as a wave of dizziness hit him.

Daryl waited, eyes full of concern, until Rick said, "I'm good," and then slowly led Rick to the door. Of course, once the others saw him up, they crowded around.

"So good to see you up, Rick!"

"Thank God."

"Should you be up yet, dad?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Back away!" Daryl yelled, and they quickly did, "Man wants to take a piss in peace. Jesus, people."

Beth grinned hugely, winking at him. Rick was amused, and replied to everyone, "I'm good. All is well."

Outside, the cold slapped him in the face, and the shivering hurt his ribs. Daryl shrugged off his big coat, and carefully helped Rick put it on. The warmth was instant, and knowing it came from Daryl's body heat made Rick instantly warm, inside and out. Would every little thing always be so erotic, Rick wondered.

As they got to the tree line, Rick looked up at Daryl, "Did I dream you climbing in my bunk in the middle of the night?"

"Naw, man, that was my dream," Daryl told him, and his breathing quickened a little.

"That was..." Rick couldn't think of a way to describe it, "That was something."

"It was everything," Daryl replied.


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning Rick was walking around more easily, and only felt dizzy when he first stood, "You heal quicker than anyone I've ever seen," Michonne pointed out to him, "What's your secret?"

"Stubbornness," he told her and she laughed, gently hugging him, "You and Carl are my best friends, have to keep you healthy. So you have to stop ramming trucks into houses."

"You don't know how much appreciate that I always know he's safe with you."

"Always," she replied seriously, and then grinned at Daryl as he joined them, "but every since you hooked up with this flea-bitten redneck, I've wondered about your sanity."

Daryl grunted at her. Rick liked to see their good-natured ribbing, and Michonne's acceptance was welcome. Carol had been giving him hard looks all morning, and so had the good father, though to be honest, the priest looked more thoughtful than anything. Still, it wasn't a conversation Rick wanted to have.

As Daryl, Michonne, Ty, and Glenn made ready to leave on their run, most of the group came out to see them off. Beth clung to Daryl, whispering nonstop into his ear, and Daryl tossed Rick a pleading look.

"Come on, Beth, let him go," Rick said, and she quickly moved beside Rick, burying her face into his shoulder, "This is Daryl we're sending off. He'll be fine."

Daryl's hand gently touched the back of Rick's head, tugging their foreheads together, but conscious of all the eyes watching, quickly backed away, "Daylight's wasting, let's do this."

After a moment, they could no longer see the four of them, so people got back to work. A huge stack of wooden stakes had formed on the porch and Maggie, Eugene, and Bob were busy making more. A clothesline had been strung between two trees, and Carol and Carl were hanging wet clothing, their heads bent together in conversation. Rosita and Tara were giggling at something as they cleaned several guns, and Beth stood in the open doorway, Judith on her hip. The priest was beside her, making silly faces at the baby.

"Father Gabriel, I want you to take a look at that map with me. Maybe we can figure out our next step." The priest nodded and followed Rick into the cabin.

...

There were a couple dozen walkers still wandering around the priest's house, but quickly the ground was littered with their bodies. Michonne and Abraham seemed to be having a blast, slicing and dicing, laughing at each other and the creativity of their kills, but Glenn said softly to Daryl, "I don't ever want it to be fun."

Daryl grunted back at him. His eyes were on the wrecked truck, the picture of an unconscious Rick slumped over the wheel replaying in his mind. He walked between the crumpled truck and the sunken area where it had slammed into the house. It was insane! How had Rick remained conscious enough to back the damn truck away from the house?

Everyone came to stand beside Daryl, examining the impact of the crash, "Never doubt Rick," he told them, and walked through the gaping hole.

Within an hour, they'd filled the van, the truck they'd escaped in, and the truck left abandoned in the yard. And there was still more food in the house, "Leave it," Daryl said, simply because there was no more room to stuff anymore.

As they climbed in the vehicles, Michonne driving their new truck, Daryl looked back at the house one last time. So many lessons learned here, about safety, family, and sacrifice. He hoped the others were paying attention.

...

After a half an hour pouring over the map, trying to find anywhere the group could safely hole up through the winter, they finally decided on a fancy gated neighborhood the father knew to be abandoned by humans. He'd not gone through the gates, choosing instead to salvage from deserted areas. Lots of walkers, though, but Rick figured they could take it much like they had taken the prison. They'd go scout it on tomorrow's run.

"Can I speak frankly with you?" The priest asked.

"As long as it's not about me, Beth, and Daryl," Rick pinned the priest with hard eyes, leaning forward slightly to make his point, "if God's got a problem with us, he can tell us himself."

"No, no, you misunderstand," Gabriel replied quickly, holding up his hands, "After the plague struck, and people were killing one another in the streets, I lost my faith. I spent weeks on my knees begging God to help me make sense of it all. I found myself doing horrible things, ignoring the knocks and cries of the living as they were torn apart outside my church's door. For months, I did nothing but eat, sleep, and pray. Then one day I just got up, drove to the steel mill, loaded the church bus with sheets of steel, found the house in the valley, and started fortifying it. I worked on it for months, barely eating or sleeping. When the house was finished, I woke another morning and started scavenging supplies. Day after day, I have no idea how long. I never understood why I was doing any of that until your group appeared in the valley, all of you good people, and then I knew."

"What?" Rick asked, "what did you know?"

"That I'd done it all for you, for Judith and Carl, for every member of this group. God gave me back my faith."

Rick shook his head, not quite willing or able to believe in such, but it was clear the priest believed it to be true.

"Before the plague, no couple's stayed together, children were being raised by single moms, abandoned by their parents altogether. What's to say this, you, Beth, and Daryl aren't God's new plan for humanity?"

Rick shook his head at the holy man, his mind muddled at the thought, "Doesn't really matter, father, this is my plan, mine and those I love."

...


	23. Chapter 23

Even though the food was welcome, the warm clothes and blankets had the whole group in great mood. The day had grown colder, and tonight it was below freezing. Daryl and Beth were on watch, and whenever they crossed paths, he kept glaring back at the cabin, where sounds of laughter and conversation could be heard.

"They've lost so much," she told him on one of those passes, "let them have a moment."

"They'll lose more if they don't start using their damn minds."

And then there was silence, and Beth knew that Rick was the cause. Unlike Daryl, he understood they needed a few moments, but that was all he'd let them have.

When Bob and Sasha came to relieve them, Beth stretched, and shivered at the hot press of Daryl's eyes, "Think we have time?"

He grinned when she trailed her gloved hand down his chest, teasingly grabbing his belt buckle, but sadly shook his head, and she followed him into the cabin. A blast of warmth hit them in the face, and they hung their coats by the door.

Rick was standing over the table, a map spread in front of him, talking with the father and Tyreese. When he met Beth's eyes, her heart swelled in her chest, he looked so handsome, with his hair curling wildly, hanging over one eye, and heat and love in his gaze. When his eyes switched to Daryl's, and she saw Daryl receive the same look, and she wanted to melt at the perfection of it all.

"Can I talk to you, Beth?" Carol was at her elbow, already tugging her to the side before Beth could respond. She glanced back at Rick, and his gaze had hardened, though it was focused on Carol now.

"Sure," Beth replied, though Carol had already steered her back toward the porch. As Carol slipped on a coat, Beth sighed, she really didn't want to go back into the cold, but after putting her coat back on, she did, following Carol to the far corner of the porch.

"What's going on?" She asked, leaning against the front of the cabin.

"I don't want you to take this wrong. I hope you'll hear me out and let me make my point before you get mad at me."

Inwardly, Beth groaned. Not this again. She'd thought, or hoped, that everyone had finally accepted her, Rick, and Daryl.

"I'll listen," she replied, "because I respect you, but I'm a grown woman and I need you to remember that, Carol. There's nothing you could ever say that would make me change my mind about my men. And they are mine. Both of them. As I am theirs. I truly don't care how you feel or what you think. In all honestly, it doesn't concern you."

Beth couldn't read Carol's expression, but wondered about the coldness in the other woman's eyes, "Then we have nothing to discuss," Carol said calmly as the cabin door opened. Rick and Daryl walked out, their concern clear on their gorgeous faces.

"We good out here?" Rick asked, but his eyes were on Carol, who sent him a brittle smile, and swept past them back into the cabin.

"What climbed up her ass?" Daryl asked, adding, "Never mind. Fuck her," to which Beth adamantly agreed.

...

While salvaging items from priest's house, after the majority of the food had been loaded, Daryl had grabbed a thickly padded sleeping bag. As most settled down for the night, he laid the sleeping bag next to Rick's bunk. Even though there was no privacy in the cabin, Glenn and Maggie still went at it every night, and he was pretty sure Bob and Sasha had gotten busy the night before. Tara and Rosita had become inseparable and Daryl wondered about the quiet moaning he'd also heard from their direction.

It was too public for all of that, he still couldn't believe he'd given head to Rick the other night. Anyone could have seen them, and that bothered Daryl, simply because he wanted their love to always be private. Nobody needed to know shit, but he wanted to be close, and that damn bunk was definitely not big enough for 3.

Rick had smiled at him, turning slightly on his side so he could look down at Daryl. When Beth came and laid at Daryl's side, resting her head on his shoulder, he knew this was the best they'd get for now.

"Tomorrow, boys," Beth announced, a mischievous little smile on her face, "haircuts for the both of you. Can't have my men looking all wild."

"I like when you say that," Daryl whispered, and Rick smiled and added, "me too."

"What do y'all call me?" She yawned heavily, a dainty little hand over her mouth.

"Our woman," they said as one.

"Oh," she whispered, suddenly wide awake, her eyes molten with heat, "I love the sound of that."

...

When Rick, Daryl, and the father left the next day to go scout that gated community, Beth's spirits were high. She didn't like being separated from them, but knowing they were together, watching each other's backs, set her heart at ease. After Beth finished bathing, feeding, and playing with little Judith, the baby settled down for her morning nap. Carl was over the giant map, trailing his finger over Georgia's cities, towns, and roadways.

"Hey buddy," she said, ruffling his hair. When he pulled back, and shot her a strange look, it hurt her feelings a bit, "Whatcha' looking at?"

"If my daddy wants to be gay with Daryl, you need to step back."

Stunned, color left her face, "I thought you understood we are all together now, Carl."

"Carol said they are gay and love each other. That you are only in the way. That you should step back." His little face was so sincere that Beth instantly calmed.

"I think Carol should let your dad decide what he wants, don't you think?" she replied quietly, and headed toward the cabin door.

Speaking of the nosy bitch, Carol met her at the door, gave a little sniff of disapproval, and started to nudge past Beth. Much as Carol had done the night before, Beth grabbed Carol's elbow and led her back outside.

"I see you're not brave enough to speak your mind to Rick and are instead undermining his relationship with his son," Beth said as the reached the corner of the porch. Bob and Sasha were also there, but at a look from Beth, hastily retreated.

"I know that what Maggie said was right. You're the catalyst. A man can't be bisexual, Beth," Carol held up her hands, "and you need to wake up and step back. You are going to forever block their happiness, block what they really want, each other, if you don't."

Amusement hit Beth, and she struggled to hold in her laughter. The older woman was dead serious. She took several calming breaths, "Just because you don't understand something, Carol, doesn't make it without sense. I don't care if you ever understand us, don't give a flying shit, but you're going to stop messing with Carl's head. That I do care about. And you can bet Rick will, too."

Carol leaned in close, too close for Beth's comfort, so she backed up a step, "I saw y'all the other night, saw you holding Rick so Daryl could suck his dick. Do you really think they wanted you there, butting into their intimacy?"

Beth was mortified, not by Carol's words, but by the idea of having been seen in such a private moment, "You don't understand and honestly," now she got in Carol's face and carefully spaced each word, "You don't fucking have to understand. It's obviously beyond your simple mind."

Carol gasped, turning on her heel and marching back into the cabin.

Maggie stood there watching and Beth wanted to scream at the lack of privacy, "A part of me agrees with her, Bethie. But," she held up her hand when Beth started to speak, "This is your life. You're a grown woman. And you have my support for however you want to lead it."

And just like that, Beth wasn't angry anymore.

...

There were at least 50 walkers stumbling around the homes of the gated community. Rick could easily see why the priest had stayed away. There were probably more in the houses, but Rick grinned at Daryl because this was doable.

Daryl gave a little nod, still so happy to have a living, breathing Rick by his side.

"How in the world will you get rid of all the dead?" the father asked.

"It's called formation, father, back to back, and we have a little experience at killing large numbers of them at once," Rick told him.

"I trust you, son," the priest replied, looking at the heavens, "you will lead us all through a safe winter."

"We always lose our safe haven. It's part of this life, but I'll work really hard to make it happen, father."

Daryl just grunted. Rick clasped him on the back, and they headed back to the truck, back to Beth, back to their family.


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning, the core fighters of the group took the gated community.

Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese, Abraham, Glenn, Maggie, and Bob climbed the gate, and cleared the area much as they had the prison, holding formation and slaying any walker who approached them. Afterwards, they went house to house, searching out any remaining walker. There was only one close call, when a dead-appearing body suddenly awakened, grabbed Tyreese's boot and gnawed at the leather. Michonne sent its head rolling.

They unloaded the van, and Rick and Tyreese went back to the cabin for the others. The rest stayed, stacking the bodies in the truck, driving them in loads to an empty field over a mile away. As the last body was tossed on the pile, several of them high-fived, and Daryl was again stunned at their cheerfulness. Riding back into the gated community just in time to meet the van, Daryl knew they'd just created another place some asshole would want to take from them.

...

They decided on the largest house, to Beth it looked like a mansion. Everyone could have had their own room, but most paired off, and Beth found it interesting that Tara, Rosita, and Abraham were all sharing a room.

There was a nursery off a large master bedroom and that's the one Beth chose. As Rick and Daryl left her to check out the house, Beth shook out the blankets in the canopied baby bed, laid Judith inside, and wound the carousal mobile. As "It's a Small World" began playing, Judy laughed happily, watching amazed as the horses bobbed back and forth over her head.

"You were right, Beth," Carl said behind her.

Tossing him a smile, she tucked a blanket around Judith, "About what?"

"About Carol. About me trusting my dad," he came to stand beside her, and smiled down at Judith, "I think she likes it, but it's putting her to sleep."

Sure enough, Judy's little eyes drifted closed. Carl and Beth exchanged a smile, as he jerked his head, "You have to come see my room!"

...

"Jackpot," Daryl said as they walked down the basement stairs. A massive generator!

They checked the tank and it was almost full of gas, including 5 extra tanks, all full. Daryl immediately started tinkering with it and told Rick, "Go get them to make sure everything in the house is off and unplugged. Every switch everywhere."

...

Rick stood in Carl's doorway, smiling at the animated look on his son's face. Earlier the whole group had met in the massive dining room and Rick had instructed limited power usage. Cooking and boiling water were their priorities, and that generator's fuel had to last through the winter.

Rosita had uncovered a huge stash of candles and everyone gathered a few for their bedrooms. It was agreed that light switches would never be used, only candles.

Beyond the food they salvaged from the priest's, the house's pantry was well stocked. They had enough for the winter, and even more to travel with to Washington in the spring. And they had yet to go through the other houses.

After the rules of the generator had been set, Carl quietly asked if he could play the video games in his room. Rick first looked to the group, and seeing everyone smiling at his son, had agreed that yes, that was worth the generator.

Now Rick stood in Carl's doorway, watching the pleasure on his son's face. Seeing Rick, Carl paused the game and chattered incessantly about how cool it was. How much he'd missed playing games!

"I want you to enjoy this, but only an hour a day, Carl. Too many of us are relying on that generator."

Carl nodded and pressed play as Rick left, his heart light.

...

Beth and Daryl were brushing their teeth, and actually giggling at the foam in their mouths. Though Beth was often full of joy, Rick had never heard Daryl make such a sound. He stood watching them, so damn pleased at them both.

When Beth noticed him, she quickly fixed him a toothbrush, spitting a glob of white foam into a little bucket. They were right, it felt incredible. Beth loaded her toothbrush again, and Rick couldn't help but laugh. His ribs were still sore, but the laughter felt almost as good as the minty flavor of the paste.

Daryl spit in the bucket. They were too worried about back-up to use the house's drainage system, but Abraham thought he could rig something soon. For now, they'd use buckets.

"We're taking the 4-8 shift," he told Rick, who nodded. Watch duty was as important as ever. They were working in teams of three for now, but the gated community was a lot of ground to watch.

"That gives us about 7 hours," Beth added, her eyes lit with speculation, "and Judy's down for the night."

"Get the door, Daryl," Rick said as Beth helped him take off his shirt. Daryl clicked the lock. Rick's ribs were still wrapped, but since Bob had said he'd probably remove the binding tomorrow, Rick went ahead and undid the tape, as Beth slowly unwrapped him. The seat belt bruise was still an ugly black and purple stripe down his chest, and as she exposed it completely, she leaned in and began fluttering soft kisses down the bruising as Daryl watched, his heart in his eyes. Rick held Daryl's gaze as Daryl slowly walked back to them, leaning his head beside Beth's, kissing at Rick's wounds, too.

Rick hadn't even known it was possible to love like this. Never could have imagined feelings like this even existed. The both of them, showering him with love, it took his breath away, and his knees buckled slightly.

Daryl caught him around the hips, and dropped to his knees, looking up with concern. Beth came behind Rick and reached to help him with his pants. As Rick bent slightly to kick them off, he leaned down and kissed Daryl, soft and brief.

Their bed was large, a full queen-sized, and Beth had cleaned and changed the linens earlier. They laid back, with Rick in the middle, all luxuriating for a moment at the feel of a real mattress beneath them. Though each was obviously aroused, they just rested and petted one another for the moment. It felt so good to be in a private space, just the 3 of them.

Daryl gravelly voice said quietly, "Been thinking 'bout what Carol said.

"Forget her, it doesn't matter," Beth started, but Daryl interrupted, "I've never looked at another man like this, never been interested in that at all. But I've also never looked at a woman like this, either. This is not about sex for me, never has been. This is about the two of you. It's about love and how we seem to, I dunno, balance."

Rick turned his head, kissing the top of Daryl's shoulder, "It doesn't matter what Carol thinks, or anybody. I'm the same as you, before you kissed me in that hospital, and Beth kissed us both on that rooftop, this would never have crossed my mind as a possibility. And we are a balance. We need each other."

Beth added, "Another thing others may never get is how much I enjoy watching the two of you give each other pleasure. I think I could come just watching you two. I want you to love one another as much as I love you, and knowing that you do makes my heart sing!"

Daryl teased, "Always singing."

Rick looked at both of them, "I'm pretty sore from taking out those walkers this morning, but I want to watch you two. First, though, Beth, come here. I want to taste you again."

Beth didn't need any prompting, she carefully climbed above him, held onto the bed's headboard and lowered herself onto Rick's mouth. He went much slower this time, she was always so quick to come, and he wanted to drag out her pleasure, show her how important she was to them, that they wanted her as much as she wanted them. Carol's ignorant accusations played in his head for a second, and then he lost himself in the taste of Beth. He had to grab her hips, and forcibly slow her down, and he continued to lick her clit in slow, flat strokes. He could hear the light pant of Daryl's breathing under Beth's breathy little moans. He held her completely still, stabbing his tongue up into her, repeatedly. The smell and taste of her filled him and damn he wished he could slide her down and fuck her. Above him, she went still and shuddered, and Daryl plucked her from his mouth.

How amazing it was to watch the two of them, as Daryl pounded into Beth. Her long legs wrapped around around his waist. Rick watched the play of muscles down Daryl's back, butt, and thighs. He sat up slowly, he really was sore, but he couldn't help himself from trailing his hand over them. It was like his own personal porn movie, not that he'd ever watched that crap, but still. Beth, as was her habit, came several times before Daryl finally finished.

Rick laid back on the bed. He just wasn't up to that kind of physical activity yet. He was fine, though, and waited to see if they were ready to sleep or would have another go.

When Daryl suddenly lunged off of Beth and knelt beside Rick, reaching for Rick's dick, Rick's breath caught in his throat. When Daryl took him into his mouth, so damn deep, Rick could do nothing but tangle his fingers in the other man's hair. When Beth moved to kiss him, her little tongue sliding wetly against his, the feel of both of their mouths was his undoing.

They fell asleep, Beth in the middle, arms wrapped around one another.

...

Sometime during the night, Judith's cry woke them, and Beth tisked at Rick when he started to get up. Springing from the bed, she disappeared into the nursery, and soon they could hear her talking softly, and Judith's answering chatter.

"Let's marry her," Daryl suddenly said, "all of us. Get married."

...


	25. Chapter 25

Chewing on his thumb nail, Daryl walked the northeast portion of the gate. This place was too big for them to watch properly. 8 enormous houses, all with large, overgrown lawns, concealing bushes and trees at every turn, splayed out over 10 rolling acres of space. As he climbed the next low rise, it irritated him just how unprotected they were. Even if every person was on watch 24/7, they still wouldn't be fully protected. At least the prison had been mainly flat land, with fences blocking the unused portions, and guard towers placed within easy view of one another. This place... It just wasn't safe. Some asshole with a tank or a few strategically placed tear gas bombs could easily take them out.

The truth was, no where was safe, but the cabin, though cramped, had been more easily defendable. This... this sprawling neighborhood, needed 10 times the number of people they had. Following the fence line, he found four different places where a determined walker could squeeze through, and this was just along the portion of fence he was guarding. Sure, walkers slowed down in the cold, but they weren't the real threat, not anymore.

Later, as he met back up with Rick, Daryl saw the knowledge in Rick's eyes. This place was good for a short stay, but the whole winter? As the two men grasped forearms, having one of their wordless conversations, Beth was in the front yard, laughing at something Bob and Sasha were saying.

"We can fix the weak places," Rick told him out loud, but doubt was clearly on his face. Too much damn space to cover, Daryl thought, and Rick nodded. What to do?

As they followed Beth into the house, Rick announced a group meeting at the next shift change.

...

Rick told them his thoughts. He kept it simple. This place wasn't as safe as they'd hoped it would be.

"We have all those spikes we made," Maggie suggested, "we can put those in the weak places to stop walkers."

"True, but it's not just walkers we have to worry about. How does our small group protect a place this size?"

"We can chop down the trees and bushes that offer cover," Abraham suggested and Rick nodded.

The others chimed in with ideas. Bob suggested watch shifts of 5, rotating every 8 hours. Building a guard tower on top of the tallest house came from Abraham. Two guard towers, Glenn added, at both ends of the property.

Daryl met Rick's eyes, they were good ideas, yes, but would it be enough?

...

The next two weeks worked everyone to exhaustion. A person was either on watch, chopping down bushes or trees, or helping with the building of the watch towers. Other practical, household chores cut further into their sleep, and by the time Rick was satisfied that they'd done the best they could do, the first snow came.

...

It was too damn cold. It had been 3 days since the snow fell, and outside snow and ice still coated the surfaces. Rick and Daryl were in the north watchtower, and even though they'd managed to secure planes of glass on all four sides, a steady draft of cold poured in.

Rick knew Daryl still wasn't satisfied with their fortifications, and honestly, neither was he. His goal was to make it through the winter. As long as they weren't blindsided by some large group of armored vehicles, they may just survive until spring.

When Rick's teeth started chattering, Daryl unzipped his coat and then reached for Rick's zipper, "I'm fine," Rick told him, but Daryl only grunted, unzipped his jacket anyway, and pressed their chests together. The warmth was amazing, and Rick didn't protest when Daryl opened his scarf and pressed Rick's face into his neck.

Damn, Rick thought, how he loved this man! Unable to help himself, he began kissing Daryl's neck, the warm, salty, and now familiar taste and smell of the other man had his stomach fluttering wildly, and as he felt Daryl harden, the turn-on was instant.

Just then the trap door banged open and Abraham stuck his head through, and they separated, but not quickly or with any shame, as they once would have felt. Zipping back up their coats, they both headed to climb down the ladder, but Abraham stopped them, "A question."

...

Daryl glanced at Rick, who said, "Sure," so Daryl nodded too.

The big man stood there awkwardly, opened his mouth to speak several times, and tugged at his mustache. Daryl was getting antsy, shift was over damn it, but Rick patted his back, and Daryl found some patience.

"How do you deal...?" Abraham started, then paused again, looking back and forth between Rick and Daryl.

"Deal with what?" Rick finally asked, "how do we deal with what?"

"Jealousy!" Abraham spit out. Daryl had no clue what the big man was talking about, but Rick, as always, seemed to know.

"Our situation is a bit different from yours, I think," Rick said, then carefully asked, "Rosita is with you both, but you and Tara aren't together like that, right?"

"She would never let me touch her. Not that I'd want to," Abraham looked sad, though, and Daryl finally understood the situation.

Rick grasped Abraham's shoulder, "Beth, Daryl, and I are a unit, so it's hard to offer advice or understand how hard that must be for you, but I do know when words aren't spoken, when people don't share what's on their minds, other people are left guessing, and that's never a good thing in a relationship."

"So I should tell them how I feel?"

Daryl sighed as Rick answered him. It was going to be a while before they could head home.

Below, poor Tyreese waited in the frozen wind, giving Abraham the moment he'd asked for.

...

Back in their room, the two men quickly shed their clothing. As had become their habit when returning from an a.m. shift, they laid on the far corner of the bed, waiting to warm up before wrapping around Beth.

Until tonight, they'd been too exhausted do much but warm up, snuggle into Beth, and pass out. But now, with both still a little aroused from their moment in the watch tower, they began kissing, rubbing, and touching.

Daryl loved the taste of Rick, he was so different from Beth's sweetness. Like everything about Beth, her mouth was small, and Daryl always kissed her with her delicacy in mind. With Rick, their kisses were more deep throated and their tongues battled and rubbed. It wasn't that kissing Rick was better, it was just totally different, and good all on its own. As he kissed his way down Rick's neck, to his chest, then across the rock hard muscles of his stomach, Rick grabbed his head and stopped him, "Let's try something different," Rick whispered.

Daryl was so aroused at Rick's suggestion that he forced himself to picture the rotting faces of walkers so he didn't come too quickly. Whatever Rick wanted to do was fine by him.

"Scoot down," Rick requested, then climbed in the opposite direction, and as Rick's thick maleness was in his face, he quickly caught on. As he sank his mouth down on Rick's hardness, Rick did the same to Daryl. As they sucked each other, the warmth of Rick's mouth quickly sent Daryl spasming, coming deeply in the other man's throat. As he came, flooded with pleasure, it was difficult to concentrate on sucking Rick back, but then a smiling Beth was there, "Let me."

Rick's dick was swallowed by her greedy little mouth. Daryl laid there, watching, attempting to catch his breath. Rick turned slightly on his side, angling better toward Beth's mouth, and Daryl began stroking the hard clenching muscles of Rick's butt, massaging as Rick pumped at Beth's mouth. Daryl ran his fingers over the area where Rick's ass met the tops of his thighs and was amazed as Rick parted his legs. He stroked his finger over the tight, slightly raised skin of Rick's asshole.

Daryl had never done anything like this, even with a woman. He knew Rick hadn't either. Though he really didn't know what to do, he decided to go with instinct. He licked his pinky finger and slowly inserted it into that tight, little hole. Rick shuttered wildly and Daryl knew Beth was drinking every drop of his come. Daryl removed his finger, and kneaded Rick's ass cheeks a few more times before they all moved to pile in the center of the bed like normal.

"Give me a few minutes, Beth," Rick told her, but she only giggled, "No need. Don't worry, seeing you two doing that, loving on each other, made me come hard before I even started."

Daryl met Rick's eyes, "Someday," he whispered and Rick nodded.

...

Groaning woke Rick, and his sweet little Beth was riding Daryl next to him. As she repeatedly ground down on him, Daryl's head was thrown back into the pillow, as his hands kneaded her breasts. Knowing how erotic it was to feel two mouths, Rick began licking at the muscled cords of Daryl's throat, and as their mouths met for a deep kiss, Rick felt Daryl come hard into Beth, who quickly hopped off Daryl and settled onto Rick's hard-on. Her little pussy was soaking wet from both her and Daryl's come, and Rick briefly thought of the condoms in the nightstand before Daryl began kissing him.

Afterwards, as they collapsed into a tangle of bodies, Rick shared Abraham's dilemma with Beth, who immediately expressed sorrow. Daryl just listened to them talk, grunting on occasion. This was part of their balance, that Rick and Beth spoke the closeness and Daryl breathed it in.

"When I woke up and saw you two, I was so excited that I barely had to touch myself. I can't imagine ever being jealous, it's like your pleasure is my pleasure," Beth needlessly assured them, but suddenly she slapped Rick on the ass, "but I do want to know what Daryl was doing down there that made you come like that."

Her happy grin practically split her face in two, "I can positively swear that I will never have the chance to grow bored with you two."


	26. Chapter 26

Beth had been waiting for weeks, but even when her men weren't on watch, they always seemed so busy working on a mass of other duties. Catching them in a moment of downtime, she quickly swooped in.

Before he knew it, Rick was seated at the dining room table, a towel around his shoulders, with a happily humming Beth cutting his hair. He honestly could care less. If she'd wanted to shave him bald, he would have let her. There were a surprising amount of curls on the floor, he noted, as she trimmed his beard. His head actually felt a little lighter on his shoulders, he thought, as she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him, "Gorgeous!"

When it was Daryl's turn, he was a bit more finicky, "I like it in my eyes."

"But not brushing your cheekbones," she replied, sharing a grin with Rick.

Damn Rick looked handsome! With his hair short again, and his beard low enough to accent his strong jawline and cheekbones, he looked good enough to eat. She blew Rick a kiss and concentrated on the surly man in front of her.

"I'll be gentle, little baby," she replied, but he just grunted. Trimming little bits at a time to fool him into thinking she was cutting less, Daryl's hair took a lot longer than Rick's had. Rick's nonstop amusement had Daryl groaning and examining the ever growing pile of hair gathering on the wooden floor.

"Am I bald?" Daryl asked Rick as Beth switched to working on his face.

"Hush it up," Beth told him. Trimming Daryl's beard was long overdue, because unlike Rick's, which grew in bushy abundance, Daryl's was sparse and full of long, straggly strands.

When she was finally finished, Beth made them both stand in front of her. So much gorgeous manhood, all hers. She could not have been happier, and kissed and hugged them both, "I'm the luckiest woman alive!"

...

During lunch Rick couldn't stop grinning at Daryl, who was obviously still not happy about his haircut. Daryl kept touching his head, or running a hand over his face. Rick knew Daryl's response had nothing to do with vanity, even though he looked handsome as sin, but had everything to do with feeling exposed, so he tried hard to contain his merriment.

Michonne wouldn't stop teasing him, "Who knew such a gorgeous old redneck existed under all that hair?"

Rick, who was bouncing a humming Judith on his knee, laughed out loud. Daryl's disgruntled expression was priceless, but he suddenly grinned back at Rick, loving the sound of Rick's laughter. Rick quickly grew hard at the love in Daryl's eyes.

Rick handed Judith to Michonne and wrapped an arm around Beth. Holding Daryl's eyes for a second, he looked upstairs, and tugged Beth from the room. Daryl immediately abandoned his lunch and almost tripped he followed so quickly. Laughter poured after them as Michonne said something about gorgeous rednecks being an inspiration.

...

Upstairs in their room, clothing flew. Though it was truly impossible for all three of them to kiss at once, they tried really hard, and Beth loved it! Mouths were everywhere, and hands were stroking, as they fell to to the bed. Daryl slid deep into her from behind, and she reached for Rick's hips, dragging him to her mouth. Being so deeply fucked by them both was so perfect, that she felt like she was caught in a continuous orgasm, racked by wave after wave of pleasure. Afterwards, she laid limp and collapsed on the bed as her men ran loving hands all over her body.

"You look really handsome, Daryl. I'd almost forgotten what you looked like under all the hair," Rick said, and it tickled Beth to see the blush on Daryl's cheeks. He did look years younger, softened, and dare she even think it, prettier?

Rick, on the other hand, was pure masculinity, and it pleased her how pleased they were with the other's new look. Beth stretched, growing quickly aroused again as their eyes followed her movements.

She was just about to ask who was ready to fuck her again when the foghorn sounded.

Rick and Daryl were dressed, grabbing weapons, and out the door before she'd even gotten her jeans on.

Each tower had a foghorn. It was not for walkers, even large herds of them. It was only to used in situations of dire threat. Human threats.

Grabbing her bow, gun, and knife, Beth pounded down the stairs, finding Carl holding Judith, "Get the baby in the nursery and lock the door!" she instructed as she ran from the house.

Seeing the others headed toward the main gate, Beth sprinted to join them. On the opposite side stood 6 women and about 20 children of various ages, all underdressed and malnourished. Rick caught her eye, indecision clearly on his face.

"Please let us in. Please help us."


	27. Chapter 27

Rick turned to face his assembled group, and saw the various levels of sympathy on their faces. No one wanted to abandon women and children to the elements, but letting them in wasn't so simple.

"Are there more with you?" Rick asked the tall, thin woman who had spoken, "Where are your men?"

"Dead," she replied, and Rick realized that with the woman's filthy face and long, stringy black hair, she reminded him of Clara, the woman in the woods outside of the prison. The crazy one who'd wanted to feed Rick to her walker husband.

"Our last 3 men never returned from a run into town. It's just been us and the kids for weeks now. We're starving and need shelter. Yesterday, several of us were out looking for food and saw this neighborhood was free of biters. We didn't know anyone was here."

Rick walked closer to the woman, "Show us your weapons."

At a nod from the Clara look-alike, several of the women pulled hand axes and knives from their clothing. One had a crowbar.

"Wait here," Rick told them, glancing down the line and meeting any eye that wasn't turned away. The kids and most of the women looked almost lifeless. An older girl with short red hair showed the only sign of life, glaring hard at Rick.

He walked back to his group, and turned to face them, "I'm not completely sure of their story, and I don't trust them one bit, but we can't leave those kids to freeze or starve. We could gather food and blankets and toss them over the gate. Or we could let them have one of the empty houses. It's up to the group. We'll take a vote."

Everyone's unease at the situation was clear. Trusting outsiders never seemed to end well, but Rick couldn't make this decision for all of them. Not with those miserable-looking kids piled at the gate.

Beth and Daryl both met his eyes in support, and he knew they'd vote however he did, regardless of their personal feelings. Being the leader often sucked, and sometimes, especially a time like this, Rick had to share the burden.

Everyone voted yes, that at the least they should give the women and children food and warmer clothing. When it came to giving them one of the homes as shelter, the vote was tied. Carol voiced the opinion that the outsiders' men could be somewhere, hidden, waiting until their guard was down. Tyreese was focused on the children, saying they'd all have become monsters too if they didn't let them inside. Round and round it went until Rick finally held up a hand for silence.

"We let them in, give them the house next to ours. We'll guard them. Until we know what we are dealing with, we don't trust them, and most importantly, we don't ever let our guard down."

He hated this, hated this feeling. The starving children with lifeless eyes haunted him, but he couldn't help but think there was a trap somewhere. He thought back to the prison, when they'd isolated Oscar and Axel. Before their deaths, they'd both contributed to the group. Scrubbing a hand over his newly-cut beard, he met everyone's eyes, "We're not monsters. We have to help them."

Carol protested, "What about our children? You can't save the world, Rick. You can't be a protector and a savior."

Ty glared at her, "Rick's already decided. We put it to a vote and he decided."

Rick ignored them, "Before we open the gate, I need everyone back on their shifts, back in the towers. I understand everyone ran down here when the foghorn sounded, but we are unprotected and may have missed something. If you see anything, anything at all, let us know."

Nodding, Bob and Sasha ran for the north tower. Abraham and Rosita took off for the other.

As they waited for news from the watch towers, Rick nudged Daryl, "Daryl's with me. Ty, I want you to go build a fire in that main living room in that house beside ours. As we let them in, the rest of you each take a group of four. Keep them in that one room until I get there. Don't talk to them or give them anything yet. I know those kids look pitiful, but we have to have some rules before we start helping them."

Everyone nodded, even Carol, though her eyes were still hard. Rick was really tired of her questioning him, always seeming to make him the bad guy, but he didn't have time to deal with her now.

"Beth, you're the one they're most likely to drop their guard around. I want you to go with the first group, and just be yourself. Listen to the smallest detail."

Watching the towers through the binoculars Ty handed him, Rick saw Abraham give a safe sign. At the other tower, Bob did the same, and Rick turned to Daryl, needlessly saying, "With me."

Opening the gate a small amount, Rick instructed them to come one by one. The lead woman, who said her name was Ellen, hung back and let the others enter before her. After each one entered, Daryl patted them down for weapons. Most of the kids flinched at Daryl's touch, but Rick definitely noticed two of the women eying Daryl speculatively. Any other time Rick would have been amused at the way Daryl completely ignored them.

After 4 of the new people clustered together, Beth led them away, as others took the later ones. When the girl with the short red hair came through, she sent Rick a look of hatred, and shivered in what appeared to be rage as Daryl patted her down. Ellen was last, and her eerie resemblance to Clara gave Rick the creeps.

When everyone at last was assembled in the house, Rick introduced himself as leader and told them the rules. They could not leave the house unless under escort; they could use anything in this house, and extra food would be brought to them, but they needed to ration their supplies. Finally, and most importantly, he informed them, even the smallest child, that they'd be back out in the cold if they didn't follow the rules.

The filthy, little faces broke his heart, and they kept glancing at the roaring fire Ty had built in the giant hearth. Finally, Rick softened, "Everyone go get warm. Ellen, get another woman and go check out the food stores."

The dry and canned goods of this house were all extra supplies. Rick and his group had left the majority because they already had enough. Certain things, mainly cans of fruit, had been previously removed, but Rick watched the two women chatter excitedly at the amount stored in the pantry.

Back outside, Rick addressed his group. For now, he assigned Ty and Eugene to guard the front and back of the house, particularly the exits, but also the windows. These people looked so desperate that Rick doubted they'd try to leave, but Carol's words ran through his mind, about men waiting until their guard was down.

He sent Maggie and Glenn to walk the fence perimeter to the northwest and he and Daryl took the other side. It was cold as hell, and Rick was glad those kids weren't freezing anymore. They passed Maggie and Glenn 3 times before Rick was finally satisfied that no one waited at the perimeter.

As they headed home to grab a bite before their now extended guard duty, Rick stopped at the door, asking Daryl, "Did I do the right thing, letting them in?"

"You've always done the best you can do, Rick. If this goes south, I'll follow you to the gates of hell." He reached for the back of Rick's head, touching their foreheads, "Besides, you'd never hurt a child."

I love you, Daryl told him with his eyes, and I love you, Rick replied.

...

Though Beth was doing exactly what Rick asked, she was also being Beth. Everyone ate until their bellies were full. This home's family had had several kids, so she gathered stacks of clean clothes, carrying them down to the children. As they changed out of their nasty clothing, Beth had them dump their stuff into giant garbage bag. Seeing lice in a sad-eyed, little blond girl's hair, she called everyone in the room where she could watch them, and then sent Ty after the bottle of tea tree oil she'd found in another house, cooking oil, and as many combs as he could find.

Rick probably wouldn't be too happy, but she was watching everyone carefully, and no one, even the wild-eyed red head, whose name Beth found out was Red, attempted to leave to living room.

Adding some tea tree oil to the cooking oil, Beth had them all coat their heads with it, instructing them how to use the combs to get the smallest critter and its eggs. Ellen was watching Beth in amazement, and most were happy to be given the activity. They'd had lice for well over a year, she told Beth, and kept passing them around.

Another little boy, Tiny Timmy, was coughing nonstop, his whole little chest racked with pain. Ty ran next door for cough medicine. The little boy's eyes followed Beth with love after his dose, his little chest resting as he closed his eyes.

Not all the clothing fit properly, so Ty's next errand was visiting the house behind them, where teens had lived. Ty started to argue with Beth, but she was a force of nature. Finally, he just did whatever she asked.

...

On their way to relieve Bob and Sasha, Daryl said, "What the hell?"

Ty was coming toward them, carry two oversized suitcases. He spoke before they could, "It's Beth. She's mothering everyone, but watching them all by keeping them in the living room. Don't fuss at me. She's your woman."

He swept past them, his nose in the air, and Daryl asked, "Think we should check?"

"No," Rick told him with a small smile, "I trust she's handling it.


	28. Chapter 28

As Beth combed through Ellen's long black hair, the other woman said, "Tell me about Rick."

Beth kept it simple because that's what Rick would want, "He's our leader."

"No," Ellen replied, "I mean, does he have a woman?"

"Yes," Beth said quickly, jerking the comb, and at the other woman's sound of pain, softened her strokes, "He has a woman."

"And Daryl?" asked another woman whose name Beth had yet to hear. The look of lust on her dirty face was irritating as hell.

Beth gritted her teeth, but her voice was calm, "Daryl definitely has a woman, too."

"Are they exclusive?" Ellen asked.

"Yes." And as Ellen squeaked again in pain, Beth quickly apologized.

"Both of them are exclusive?"

"Completely exclusive."

"But they're not married?"

"Both of them are mine," Beth declared, standing abruptly and taking her earlier stance as guard in the open doorway.

"Both of them are mine," she repeated, in case someone hadn't heard her.

The women exchanged glances, twittering amongst themselves, but Beth didn't care. The quicker they understood, the happier she would be. One of the women, a blond with large breasts, examined Beth from head to toe, "No one is trying to step on your toes, honey."

"It'd be a lost cause if you tried," she laughed suddenly. Her jealously wasn't because she thought anyone was capable of taking them, but was all about the idea of other women wanting them! She sighed, thinking she'd probably have to spend the rest of her life beating off women. Both of her men were going to age well. Women would always want them. Well, as a cross to bear, she thought she could handle it.

She grinned at the women, suddenly aware that not a one of them would ever experience her problem. She was a woman alone, and that's how she liked it, a woman alone with her men, "A totally lost cause, ladies."

...

Over the next several days, Daryl and Rick found themselves being propositioned left and right by the new women.

A big-breasted blonde had begged Rick's help to drag some things downstairs. Beth had smiled, her entire face beaming with amusement, and said, "Help her, Rick."

Upstairs, the woman had unzipped her jacket, held her breasts out to him, and said, "I'm all yours." Rick had beat a hasty retreat, coming empty-handed down the stairs, face bright red.

Beth had caught him in hug, whispering, "Nice rack?"

He stared at her in amazement as she'd giggled like a mad woman.

And poor Daryl. Every time he turned around, it seemed one of the women were trying to touch him. His face, his chest, his ass, even his damn dick.

"They're a horny bunch," he told Rick one afternoon after they'd lugged some wood into the house.

"I've never seen anything like it," Rick replied, shaking his head in amazement, "Before Beth, no one but Lori had ever wanted me."

Daryl shook his head, "Every woman I was with before Beth was drunk."

"Beth seems to be taking it all well," Rick shook his head. He'd never understand women.

"Yeah, but they're not doing that shit in front of her, either," Daryl added.

"I guess," Rick replied, but Beth had really been confusing him. She seemed to find it all hysterical. What the hell? He'd kill another man just for touching Beth.

Then one of the women had gotten bold. Right in front of Beth, she ran her hand down a flinching Daryl's chest. In an instant, she was shoved against the wall, Beth's elbow in her throat, Beth's knife nicking the soft skin of her stomach, "What part of they are both mine are you bitches having such a hard time understanding?"

Finally Rick understood. His and Daryl's responses to the women had helped Beth solidify her claim. Nothing she could have said would have warned off the other women, but this, this tigress, had his dick hard as rock. Sweeping her into his arms, Rick had strode to the door. Daryl had turned back, facing the women, "And that ladies, is the fucking truth. And don't ever forget it."

...

On the 4th day after their new guests arrived, Beth finally gathered some useful information. Tiny Timmy and a little angel-faced girl named Emily were stacking blocks, "Will the bad men ever find us here?"

Tiny Timmy had replied, "If they do, Rick'll shoot them."

Beth had dropped down next to them on the floor, "You know, if Rick knew they were coming, he could be ready. Shoot them before they got here."

Tiny Timmy had hung his head, "Not 'pposed to tell you about the bad men."

"Well, if you do, Rick could get them. And they'd never hurt you again." Beth pulled him close and hugged his frail body, "Rick's the best and most brave man I know. He's like superman."

Emily had nodded adamantly, her sweet little angel face lit with belief, "He is! He is like superman! And Daryl's like Batman! And Ty's like Captain America!"

"If you tell me, I'll get the word to Rick. No one will ever know you told me."

"You promise?" Tiny Timmy had whispered into Beth's hair.

"Pinky swear," she whispered, pulling back to take his thin face into her hands. Then holding out her pinky, she smiled as he hooked his tiny finger to hers.


	29. Chapter 29

Rick sent Ty and Daryl to drag Ellen from the house, as Bob held a gun to the rest.

"Want to tell me the truth now?" Rick asked her, leaning into to her face.

"I don't know what the hell this is all about, but I..."

"This is about you lying. 'Our men are dead', you said. Never came back from a run. Come to find out, the men you were with left and you gathered all the children and ran!"

Spittle flew from Ellen as she yelled back, "What the fuck did you expect me to do? Let them rape the children, you sick bastard?"

"Of course not! But you could have told me who would be following your tracks when I let you come in next to my family! No warning! Nothing but lies!" Rick yelled back at her.

"You don't understand!" Ellen screamed, "you don't understand how sick they were. What they were doing to the children!"

Rick suddenly softened, his face and voice going gentle, "I do understand evil, Ellen, and once you saw that we were not like those men, you should have told us."

The woman was sobbing before him, "You might have kicked us out! How was I to know?"

Daryl stepped up, "Fuck your fears when you first got here. Now you know us. Tell us about these men."

...

Since so many were comfortable with Beth, she had gotten the most well-rounded picture. When addressing his group as a whole, he pinned her to explain.

"Ellen owned a daycare, and when the world went crazy, some of the kids never got picked up. A group of them were surviving as best they could, mainly families, with everyone doing their best to raise all the kids. Four men joined them, acting as if they were part of the group and acted nice at first, but whenever one of their men left on a run, they never returned, just the four would make it back. A few weeks ago, the last of their men died. Only those 4 men were left and they started demanding payment for supplies, but not just from the women, but from the kids, too. Apparently, after Red was attacked and raped repeatedly, the next time the men left, Ellen made them run. Seems like she overheard two of the men talking one night about this neighborhood, how it had been cleared of walkers. So, even if they don't know that this is where the group ended up, they know we are here."

As Father Gabriel dropped to his knees in prayer, Rick took over, "We are now on perimeter and tower shifts around the clock, everyone gets a flare, and if you see anything, any living people, fire it off. I know it's cold out there, so bundle up. I know we're tired, but we'll sleep in shifts, too. Nothing matters but our protection."

Everyone nodded but Carol, "I knew taking them in would get us all killed."

Beth got in Carol's face, "Weren't you listening? They already knew we were here. Helping those kids hasn't endangered us any more than we were already."

"Enough," Rick said, "what's done is done."

...

With the extra watch duties, Rick, Daryl, and Beth rarely even got to sleep at the same time. She felt like she only saw them in passing. It was necessary, she knew, but still, she missed them. She took 2 watches a day, but spent the rest of the time either caring for Judith, or making sure everyone was fed.

A week after the other group arrived, Carl asked Rick if he could meet the other kids. Beth took him over, and it was fun watching him bond with John, a dark-haired kid who was about Carl's age. Red sat in the corner, always separate, glaring at Carl.

"What's her problem?" he whispered to Beth as they left. When she told him what Red had experienced, he was immediately sympathetic. Beth had tried speaking to the girl on multiple occasions, but anger and distrust poured from Red in waves. Ellen told Beth that Red hadn't spoken since the men had raped her, not even to Ellen.

So one afternoon when Beth found Red alone in the kitchen, Beth cornered her, "Our group got attacked once. Daryl and I escaped together, but then some other men grabbed me and took me from Daryl. For weeks I was raped by so many different men that their faces started to merge. They kept me drugged, but I remember it. When Rick and Daryl rescued me, I had to make a decision, put it all behind me or let it eat me alive. I was already in love with both Rick and Daryl, so I dove into them. They don't even know they healed me with their love."

Red's face had shifted from anger to sadness to anger again, and for the first time Beth heard the girl's high pitched voice, "How could you ever want anyone to touch you again?"

"Love. Love can heal you. Everyone here cares about you, Red. You have to decide whether what those men did is going to destroy you or make you stronger."

Tears appeared in the girl's eyes and she whispered to Beth, "I think they broke something inside of me."

Beth hugged Red, uncaring as the girl's tears soaked her shirt, as the girl sobbed and sobbed.

...

As Rick went to grab a few hours of sleep, Beth was leaving to get Judith from Carl. Rick grabbed her in a hug, crushing her to his chest, "God I've missed you. I love you, sweet Beth."

She helped him get undressed and buried her face in his neck, as he told her, "Someday this threat will be over and we'll all be together again. Come lay with me for a minute."

He carried her to the bed. As they laid there, Rick stroked Beth's hair, sighing at the feel of her against him, as the exhaustion of the day seeped in him. He barely felt her kiss his forehead as she slipped away.

...

Daryl was bone tired. Walking in their room, he perked up slightly to see Rick asleep. He always seemed to sleep alone these days. Tossing his clothes over a chair, he quietly snuggled beside Rick, curling into the other man's back. Rick mumbled something, and as Daryl put his arm around Rick stomach, Rick laced their fingers.

Hours later, that's how Beth found them. Considering she could use a couple hours sleep, she also undressed, but then sat on the edge of the bed, watching them. Her conversation with Red ran through her mind, and Beth had told the girl the truth. These two men had saved her, in every way.

Everyone was exhausted, not just from all the watch duties and walks of the perimeter, but also from staying hyper-vigilant all of the time. She figured Rick and Daryl were averaging about 5 hours of sleep a day. If she curled up into all of that manhood, she'd never be able to stop touching them and they needed rest. Laying on the far end of the bed, she let the sound of their breathing lull her to sleep.

When Daryl woke, he was sandwiched between them. He was so rarely in the middle, not that he minded, but it felt really good, and as always, it amazed him that they actually loved him. He thought back to his life before the apocalypse, back when he'd just been some redneck asshole following Merle around. Being with the group had changed him. Rick had changed him. Rick had so much integrity, was willing to sacrifice himself to save others, and always tried to do the right thing... And Beth, her bright, joyful spirit showing him a mysterious mix of beauty and strength... They blew his mind. Beth liked to say she was the luckiest woman in the world, but Daryl knew the truth. He was the lucky one.

Being in the middle, he realized he could touch them both. He licked his finger and reached between Beth's legs, stroking her sweet little clit. With his other hand, he began pumping Rick's hard on. Though they woke fairly quickly, both just let him love on them. Beth came first, as usual, then scooted down and started sucking Daryl, her hot, wet mouth felt incredible. As Rick came, he joined Beth, and they took turns sucking him. So damn erotic, he thought, as he watched them. The pleasure was almost too much, and he threw his head back into the pillow as the orgasm hit him.

...

It was that very evening when a panicked Abraham noticed Rosita didn't return from her watch duty.


	30. Chapter 30

Tara had been the last person to see Rosita, and that had been over two hours ago.

"Everyone on guard except for Tara, Abraham and Daryl, you're with me," Rick instructed, leading the 4 to Rosita's section of the perimeter.

They'd taken her at one of the weak spots. One of those places they'd placed spikes to keep out walkers. Daryl examined the ground, "There was a struggle, just Rosita and one man, looks like she fought hard. He probably squeezed in, grabbed her, and his buddies knocked out this brick section so they could drag her out."

Tara sobbed, and when Abraham reached for her, she threw herself into his arms, crying against his chest.

"We'll get her back," Rick told them

"Rick!" Daryl was examining the broken, man-sized hole, poking his head through to the outside of the wall, "They left a note over here in chalk! Says, your woman for Red and Emily. Send them and one man to the library on Knob Hill Road tomorrow at noon. She will die if more than one man comes."

Daryl came back through the hole so Rick could read the note himself.

"That gives us 10 hours," Rick stated, turning to Abraham, "We'll get her back, but first we need a plan."

As they headed back to the house, Tara stumbled several times before Abraham finally swung her up into his arms.

...

It was actually Carol who came up with the best plan. An upstairs bathroom was full of beauty supplies, including hair dye of every shade. Since Red's was the same length as Carol's hair, Carol would dye her hair red and sit low in the truck. There were also some extremely large dolls in another house, one could be used as the little girl, especially if "Red" were holding it in her lap. The truck's windshield was filthy from lack of use, so it was decided to leave it that way to confuse binoculars. Glenn was going to don the body amour and curl into floorboard. Beth had originally suggested she take that role, but both of her men sent her such identical looks of horror and disbelief, seemingly losing their minds at the very suggestion, that their united front had her retreating from the idea. If the situation weren't so dire, she may have been amused by their fierceness.

When Rick said he'd be the driver, Abraham protested vehemently. Rosita was his woman, this was his responsibility. Finally Rick agreed, but he hated he wouldn't be there.

Because Rick thought she should know, he told Ellen about Rosita's abduction and the note on the wall. After getting over her initial fear that Rick might trade the children, she became really scared for Rosita.

"They won't let Rosita go, Rick. Their plan is to take the girls, keep Rosita, and kill whoever makes the trade. They are pure evil," Ellen told Rick hoarsely. Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, she wished Rick good luck.

For the next couple of hours, they went over every possible scenario. Rick knew Abraham could handle it, but he was nervous nonetheless.

...

Rick and Daryl were in the north tower, and though Rick doubted those men were close by, this was yet another reminder of all the threats that existed in their world, and a reminder that they could never drop their guard.

"I know it's selfish," Daryl said, "but I'm so glad we took Beth off of perimeter watch."

Rick nodded, "It's not selfish. I feel the same damn way. And today, when she volunteered to go..."

"I know," Daryl replied, "she's crazy if she thought we'd let her."

Their eyes met briefly, totally in sync, before they rotated windows and got back to their watch.

...

As Beth carried Judith into the kitchen, she found a pissed off Maggie, yelling at Glenn for volunteering to help get Rosita back.

"Tara risked everything to help me find you. It's the least I can do for her."

"I get that, Glenn, but I can't stand the idea of you going! I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach!"

Glenn grabbed Maggie's hands and tugged her into his arms, "I have to help Abraham get her back. If it was you they'd grabbed..."

The wait was agonizing for everyone. Rick, Ty, Bob, and Daryl paced the perimeter. After an hour, Rick became even more worried. The library was so close. What was happening?

By 2 o'clock, he'd had enough. Something had gone horribly wrong. Pacing wildly, Maggie was inconsolable, and though Beth tried to hide her fear, every passing minute felt like a death knoll.

Rick had grabbed Beth, kissed her hard, and whispered in her ear, "Something's gone wrong. Daryl and I are going to find out what."

Even though her heart clenched horribly, she nodded. She wanted to scream no, grab her men, and lock them in their bedroom, but Glenn was out there, Glenn, Carol, Abraham, and Rosita, and if anybody could bring them back, it was Rick and Daryl.

Releasing Rick, Beth grabbed Daryl, taking his gorgeous face in her hands, "Protect each other. If it's gone bad, get the hell out of there, you hear me?"

At his brisk nod, her heart plummeted, and she wanted to sob, but she forced herself to stand straight, and tug their heads together where she could tell them both, "You'll come back to me."

Rick faced the assembled group, having already told Bob, Ty, Eugene, and Father Gabriel, who were still outside, "If this is a set up, and they are drawing us away... Shoot anyone who tries to enter. Don't hesitate."

Maggie wiped her face, her bright red eyes focused on Rick, "Bring him back to me! We've got this."

And then he and Daryl hopped in their other truck. Ty met them to open the gate, his eyes bleak, but as the gate opened, he told Rick and Daryl, "I'll protect them with my life."

Rick nodded at him, and off they went. It was a quick drive through the small, deserted town. Several blocks before they reached the library, Rick pulled over the truck, and he and Daryl carefully made their way closer.

It was the moans of walkers that gave away at least part of the problem. Climbing a fire escape several buildings from the library, they looked down on a chaotic scene. A hundred or so walkers were below, a few still gnawing on the remains of two humans. It was impossible to tell if the remains were one of their people because there was little left, mainly blood and bones. The truck Abraham had driven was wrapped around a utility pole.

A shot rang out and Daryl's shoulder jerked. Dropping down below the side of the roof in a panic, Rick ripped open Daryl's coat, and calmed as he saw it was just a flesh wound, "Sniper, 2 o'clock," he told Daryl, "Cover me."

"Always," Daryl's gravelly whisper, sending some covering fire across to the sniper. Rick, meanwhile, focused and aimed. As the sniper returned fire, Rick spotted the man, and shot the asshole in the head. Almost immediately, something white appeared waving, and Rick breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Rosita poke up her head.

Seeing she was trying to tell him something, Rick dug out the binoculars and focused on Rosita. Damn, someone had beat the hell out of her! Her signals were fairly easy to read, except for specifics.

"The two in the streets are theirs, but it looks like one has the others in the library. Someone's shot. I think Carol, though maybe Glenn. Shit, maybe both. We've got to get in that library."

The gunfire had stirred up the walkers, and the sound of their moaning and groaning echoed loudly between the buildings.

...


	31. Chapter 31

Rick handed Daryl the binoculars, "I can't figure out what Rosita's saying."

"Shit, Rick, I think she's saying there are extra men. The assholes got some backup."

"Fuck," Rick cursed, "okay, we'll have to split up. I'll find a way into the back of the library. You go get Rosita, she's a damn good shot, I'll need both of you. Circle around and follow me into the library."

As far as plans went, it wasn't much of one, but thinking that Glenn or Carol, or both, might be bleeding out spurred them to action.

As they reached the fire escape, Daryl grabbed Rick and touched their foreheads. As always, it was as deeply profound as a kiss, more so somehow, "We've got this," Rick whispered, before climbing swiftly down.

Using their knives, Rick and Daryl killed the 6 walkers in the ally, nodded at one another, and took off on their separate tasks.

...

Though the gunfire had agitated the walkers, Daryl had no problem weaving through them, most were old turners, cumbersome and easily falling with a slight push. Quickly climbing the fire escape on Rosita's building, he wondered why she wasn't coming to him. As he topped the roof, he could see why.

Reminiscent of Daryl's brother, Rosita's ankle was handcuffed to some piping. She was naked and bleeding from multiple wounds. Though he quickly examined the pulverized flesh of her face, and various cuts and wounds on her body, he saw nothing she couldn't survive. He removed his coat and draped it over her shivering form. Digging through his pack, he found his case of small metal tools, and immediately began working on the handcuff.

"There were 8 of them," she forced the words through the swollen flesh of her lips, "8 piece of shit bastards."

...

Rick had more trouble with walkers. There were a dozen behind the library, and by the time he'd killed them all, his chest was heaving. Trying all the back doors to the library, he wasn't surprised they were locked. He climbed on a trash dumpster, trying the windows, and was relieved when a small one slid open. Though it was much darker inside, he could see the small office he landed in. Quietly opening the door, he saw nothing but shelves and shelves of books.

Crouching low, python at the ready, he began silently making his way through the library.

...

After the handcuff lock clicked open, he helped Rosita stand and get into the coat. Her left arm hung at a crazy angle, but she didn't even whimper as he slipped it into a sleeve. The coat reached to mid-thigh on her small frame, and he zipped it to her chin, carefully covering her head with the hood. Looking down at her bare feet, he ripped off the sleeves of his flannel shirt and tied them into a makeshift pair of shoes. They moved to the fire escape.

"You good?" he asked.

"I want every one of them dead," she told him.

He nodded in agreement, "With your arm, I'm gonna have to carry you down. Think you can hold on?"

In reply, she got behind him, hooked an arm over his chest, and lifted up, her legs snaking like a monkey around his waist. Since she weighed little more than Beth, he barely noticed as he climbed back down the fire escape, "Just hang on," he told her, shoving at walkers left and right. Muffled gunshots came from inside as he ran around to the back of the library and spotted the open window.

...

Rick heard them before he saw them. Two of the men were arguing, and looking out the front of the library, "I'm telling you, there were only two, and Mack shot one before he went down. The one guy went and got the Hispanic chick and now he's leaving with her. We don't need hostages. Kill 'em and let's get the fuck outta here."

Leaning out a bit further, Rick spotted Abraham holding a limp Carol. Glenn sat beside them, glaring up at the two men pointing guns at his head.

4 left, Rick thought, leaning back, and taking a deep, steadying breath. Rounding the corner, he shot twice, taking out the two men holding guns on Rick's three people.

Answering fire came from the other two. Moving around the shelves, Rick leaned out and shot a third man.

"I'll kill them!" the last man shouted. Rick moved again, "Toss out your gun."

Another shot rang out and Glenn screamed in pain. Rick had had enough, lining the last man in his sights, until a heavy click in his ear and the cold press of a muzzle at his temple stayed his hand.

"You heard the man, put your gun down, asshole."

Holding out his hands in a placating manner, Rick slowly lowered the python.

"Hot damn, Leroy!" The man standing over Abraham, Carol, and Glenn cackled, "Kill 'em all. With four less people to watch that place, they'll be ripe for the picking."

"Yep," Leroy replied, "and this'un here is their leader!"

Across the room, Rick held Abraham's eyes, and Ab's little flicker to the left was all the warning Rick needed, he ducked wildly, rolling to the side, as Leroy's brains exploded. Daryl grasped Rick's arm and pulled him to his feet.

Up front a shot rang out, the last man grasped his thigh, and then Rosita stood over him, quickly emptying her clip into him. Legs, arms, shoulder, stomach. As the man cried out, blubbering something about mercy, she pulled a knife from Daryl's coat pocket and began stabbing the man repeatedly in the face.

Abraham had stood and now he handed Carol's unconscious body to Daryl. He knelt beside Rosita, whispering, "Shhh, baby girl, daddy's here, shhh..." Reaching a hand over hers, he worked the knife from her fingers. As she turned her face to hers, he flinched but smiled, "Got that bastard good. I'm so proud." Then Rosita was in his arms, and the sounds of her choked cries echoed through the church.

Rick examined Carol in Daryl's arms. There was no visible wound, or blood, except for a huge bruise at her hairline, so he turned to Glenn. His old friend had been shot 3 times, in both legs, and his left shoulder. As Rick tightly bound the wounds, he whispered, "You've got to hang on, Glenn, Maggie's gonna kill me as it is."

...

Beth and Maggie were in the south watch tower when they saw the truck returning. Sprinting, they saw Ty open the gate, and reached the house as the truck pulled in.

Seeing Rick and Daryl in the back of the truck made Beth almost swoon in relief, but the bodies they held whipped her into action. Seeing Eugene she yelled at him, "Get Bob and Ellen! Now! Maggie, snap out of it, go clear off the dining room table, and gather the medical supplies!"


	32. Chapter 32

"These two bullets went straight through his legs," Bob told Beth, "But we're going to have to get this one out of his shoulder."

Beth nodded, and dug through the medical supplies for exactly what Bob would need.

The dining room was chaos. Rosita sat in a chair, blindly stroking a sobbing Tara's head where it rested in her lap. Carol laid at the end of the table, still unconscious, while Tyreese spoke softly to her, his fingers in the tips of her bright red hair. Sasha was wrapping Abraham's giant rib cage, but his eyes were trained on Rosita.

Despite Daryl's grumbling, Rick cleaned the flesh wound on his shoulder, butterflying the small wound closed, "Waste of supplies," Daryl grunted.

"You do as he says, Daryl Dixon," Beth commanded from across the room.

"Yeah," Rick smirked, "you do as I say, Daryl Dixon."

Ellen peeked in, holding Judith, "Taking her to play with the kids." Rick nodded, it was Beth's idea, and if she trusted Judith would be fine, then so did he.

As Bob began to probe Glenn's shoulder, determining the exact placement of the bullet, Glenn passed out. Bob had the bullet out in under a minute and he and Beth immediately cleaned and bandaged the wound. Maggie sat in a chair, tears rolling silently down her face. Beth patted her shoulder, looking to see who was next.

Beth hurried to Rosita, dropping to her knees and slowly shifting Tara back to Abraham, who grasped the smaller woman to his good side. Gently lifting Rosita's chin, Beth shined a pen light into the other woman's eyes, "Bob, she's in shock."

Bob helped Beth maneuver Rosita to the table, "Look away," Beth told everyone as she unzipped Daryl's coat. Rosita's poor body was so pitifully abused that Beth had to pause, blink back her tears, and take a steadying breath.

"Fucking animals," Bob whispered. Working together, they cleaned and bandaged her wounds, stitching spots on both of her arms, upper thighs, and a deep slash down her left breast. Her shoulder was out of socket, and Bob popped it back in place. Afterwards, there was so much white gauze on her that she resembled a mummy. Rosita gave no response, even when the needle sank in her flesh, even when Beth gently cleaned between the poor girl's legs.

Sending Tara after some clothes for Rosita, Beth rounded the table to Carol and Tyreese. He was humming something softly, and Beth almost hated asking him to move. As Bob examined Carol's pupils, he announced, "This is a bad head wound."

Bob starting wrapping Carol's head, and Tyreese suddenly screamed, "She's not breathing!"

Grabbing an air bag, Beth began pumping air into the other woman's lungs while Bob applied chest compressions.

"Why isn't she breathing?" Tyreese sobbed as Sasha hugged him.

Holding his head to her chest, Bob announced that he had a heartbeat, but when Beth stopped squeezing the air bag, Carol was not breathing on her own.

"I think Carol is in a coma. Someone needs to go to that one house and get the ventilator. We need to set up a bed down here and get an IV into her. Don't stop Beth, you're breathing for her."

...

Daryl and Rick took the truck, piling in any medical equipment Bob could possibly need. When they'd first swept the neighborhood, that particular home held little in the way of supplies, but everyone had noted the stocked invalid's quarters.

After helping Bob set up the equipment, Rick announced that all generator power would be focused on Carol now.

He and Daryl hustled to the south tower, relieving an exhausted Father Gabriel, who never should have been on shift by himself. Sasha and Eugene were already in the north tower. Right now, too many refused to leave the house, leave their wounded loved ones, so there was no one to watch the perimeter. Neither Rick or Daryl liked it, but they just didn't have enough people to guard a place this size.

Once they were peering out their respective windows, Daryl said softly, "You're gonna kill me one day, if I ever have to see another gun to your head."

"That's the risk we take," Rick replied, "loving in this world."

"I know," Daryl whispered, "and it's worth it."

8 hours later, when Carl and Beth arrived to relieve them, Rick didn't even fuss. He kissed them both on the forehead, and exhausted, followed Daryl back to the house.

The beep of Carol's machinery sounded too loud in the silence of the house. Bob laid on a small cot next to her bed, but hopped up when he saw Rick and Daryl. Ty snored softly from an uncomfortable-looking chair.

"Rest," Rick told Bob, watching the slow but steady plod of Carol's heartbeat across the monitor behind the bed. Her face looked sunken, ashen, and Daryl made a small, choked sound. Rick put his arm around Daryl's waist, tugging him in for a side hug. Even though they'd had their disagreements, it was still Carol lying there, a member of their family hooked to all those machines.

"I don't know if they will work," Bob sighed, so Rick shared his story, of waking up from a coma to find an apocalypse, and Bob nodded, "You're right. Miracles still happen. She's going to wake up."

"Oh, and Rick, in all the chaos, Judith is still next door. She's being smothered in attention over there, trust me, she's fine."

Daryl grunted, "Hope she don't get lice."

...

After retrieving Judith from her mass of admirers, Rick stood in the nursery, holding her as she fell asleep. She was getting heavy, every time Rick turned around, someone seemed to be feeding her. Lots of times from their own plates. Kissing her forehead, he laid her in the bed, turned on the magic mobile, as Beth called it, and quietly closed the door.

Daryl was naked and brushing his teeth. It may have been one of the sexiest things Rick had ever seen, but he didn't act on it. He just leaned back on Judith's door and marveled at the other man. They were both too exhausted. Rick stripped off his clothes, washed his face, and brushed his own teeth.

In the mirror, Daryl watched him, his eyes liquid pools of heat. And again, Rick wondered if every damn thing would always be so erotic.

"We're too tired, need some sleep," Rick said after he spit.

"I'm never too tired, but you're right. Can't expect an old man like you to keep up," Daryl grinned. Rick mock-punched him, and his fist seemed to bounce right off that rock-hard abdomen.

"I admit it, I need some sleep," Rick told him, falling back on their bed.

Daryl landed beside him, gently kissed his lips, and deadly serious now, "I need to do this, Rick. I almost lost you again today. I thought my damn heart was gonna jump out my chest or something. You just lay there. Let me love you."

So Rick did, and it was bizarre that even though the other man wasn't necessary gentle, his mouth was somehow nothing but love.

Afterwards, as Daryl curled up behind him, and flung a hand over his stomach. Rick laced their fingers.

...

This was the second time Beth had found them sleeping like this, but this time, considered they'd been asleep for hours, she didn't worry about waking them.

Soon she was sandwiched between them, with Daryl fucking her from behind while her hand steadily jerked Rick off. At some point Rick untangled himself, slipping down to where she and Daryl laid on their sides. Reaching her small pussy, he settled his mouth at her clit. As Daryl fucked her into Rick's tongue, she began making a high-pitched sound. Daryl held a hand over her mouth as he and Rick fucked her into oblivion, her body convulsing in pleasure.

"Yep," she whispered, completely limp, "luckiest woman in the world."


	33. Chapter 33

The next morning, Beth was delighted to see Glenn sitting up and laughing at Michonne. It would be a while before he could put weight on his legs, and when she changed his bandages, she was pleased to see he'd completely stopped bleeding. When she checked his pupils, pain killers were evident in his system, and in his high-pitched laughter at Michonne's cheesy jokes.

Checking in on Rosita brought her spirits down again, the girl was still in shock, staring blankly ahead at nothing. As Beth changed her bandages and rubbed an antibiotic ointment into her wounds, she gave no response. Tara still refused to leave her, but Abraham was back on watch, unable to handle the inactivity of sitting in their room or the hopelessness of Rosita's blank stare.

Carol was unchanged, though her heartbeat remained a steadily beating beep. Ty remained at her bedside, asking lots of questions Beth couldn't answer. Father Gabriel stood at the foot of the bed, praying nonstop.

Later, with Judy on her hip and a bag of canned fruit over her arm, Beth went next door. Judith was immediately grabbed and passed around the room, and the sweet fruits were marveled over. When Red spontaneously hugged Beth, she blinked back tears. The changes in the girl's behavior were almost miraculous, and gave Beth an idea.

Pulling Red to the side, she told her about Rosita, and later when Beth returned to their home, Red was with her. Up in Rosita's bedroom, Red explained to a blank-faced Rosita what those same men had done to her.

Red quickly grew frustrated at Rosita's lack of response. Lifting her shirt, Red exposed her adolescent chest, and the barely-there buds of her breasts. The healed knife wounds on Red's skinny frame made Beth cover her mouth, lest an involuntary sound escape.

"They did it to me, too, Rosita! But I lived! And every one of those bastards is dead! If I can survive it, so can you! Now wake the hell up!"

Slowly Rosita's hand lifted, tracing one of the wounds on Red's stomach, who flinched but stood her ground.

Grabbing Tara's hand, Beth forcibly pulled her from the room. Tara followed, though reluctantly, as Beth told her, "I need you downstairs."

...

It would have seemed gradual to anyone who had been asked, but to Beth and Daryl, the shift in the group's psyche appeared overnight. There was a new deference given to them by the rest of the group. How their opinions were asked for, even on simple things people should have been able to figure out on their own.

Beth was a natural born leader, and took to her "First Lady" role with ease, but Daryl, not so much. He was so uncomfortable that he'd started avoiding people altogether.

As Rick, Daryl, and Beth laid in bed several nights later, Daryl demanded suddenly, "Why can't they fucking think for themselves?"

"They can," Rick told him, "they just need confirmation."

"Not from me," Daryl complained, "their panties all in a wad over simple shit. I can't do it."

"Then don't," Rick told him, "you're the strong, silent type, they'll sort it out eventually."

...

After two weeks on the ventilator, with no nutrition other than IV bags, Carol's body passed in the night. It was Bob's belief that her brain had been dead the whole time.

Father Gabriel found Rick pacing the perimeter, and after letting everyone say goodbye, Rick stabbed a knife through her skull. Tears dripped down his cheeks remembering the good times, and as Beth and Daryl led him to bed, his quiet misery inspired many a tear amongst those who watched.

Later, in their bed, as Rick's tears dampened her left shoulder, and Daryl's coated her right, Beth pulled forth every good memory of Carol, sharing stories of Carol's strength, her bravery, the lessons she'd taught Beth. Carol's humor. Her ability to turn a frown into a smile. Her love of the group.

And this is how the dead should be remembered, Rick thought, as he hugged his woman and stroked the shoulder of his man. This was how life moved on.


	34. Chapter 34

**_Author's note: This chapter is explicit, and I'm nervous about how it will be received, but if you have hung with me this far, I hope you can handle it. As always, I love and appreciate every review - BrickylLove_**

When the days started to warm, the group began going on runs again. With the kids and women now part of them, they needed extra vehicles to get to Washington. Some large barrels were placed in the back of the truck and gas was siphoned and added whenever possible. The old van still ran well, but they needed more space to travel in. 2 more vans were found, but one needed a lot of work. Once it was ready, Washington would be their future.

...

While carrying Judith outside for some fresh air, Beth passed Daryl working on the troublesome van. Shirt off, broad shoulders leaned into the engine, he struggled to loosen a bolt. The muscles in his arms bulged and Beth had one of those "I can come just watching him" moments. Spots of grease dotted his upper torso, and as she paused by him, his eyes flicked to hers in a hot surge of knowledge.

A minute later Beth was handing Judith to Carl, and following Daryl into the house.

...

Rick, who was in the south tower, watched the byplay with amusement. His binoculars had also gotten lost on Daryl's form for a minute before Beth had been consumed by lust. Rick grew hard just imagining the two of them in their bed, and adjusted the bulge in his pants.

Behind him, Tyreese chuckled. Rick turned to find the other man grinning at him, "Go on, Rick, I've got this."

"I prefer two of us in the towers," Rick replied, his smile rueful at having been caught.

"I'm not normally inspired by another man," Ty grinned, "but I understand why she wanted him inside and why you need to get down there, now. Go on, I've got this."

Though Rick definitely wanted to join them, the real reason he left Ty alone was the laughter in Ty's voice. Since Carol's death, Ty had been a shell of himself.

Her death had affected them all. When the old world machines had kept Carol alive, hope that something could be salvaged from before, some sort of medical miracle, had consumed the group. And even if Rick had disagreements with Carol, he had loved her. Everyone had. Her passing and funeral had been somber occasions that seemed to color the rest of the winter.

On his way home, Rick passed Red and Carl, who were watching Judith play in the grass. Red and Carl had become inseparable and Rick recognized puppy love when he saw it. Their heads were bent together, so lost in their own little world, and their startled expressions as Rick greeted them made him smile. He leaned down and kissed the top of Judith's head.

As Rick entered the house, he paused to speak to Rosita and Tara, who were laughing as they sorted canned food. Though Rosita would always carry the scars of her ordeal, her face was still beautiful, though older somehow. Rick had seen Tara and Abraham holding hands on many a occasion, and smiling at each other, though he didn't have a clue if Abraham still experienced jealousy in the privacy of their bedroom. As Father Gabriel had once pointed out, maybe God had a new plan for the human race.

As Rick entered their bedroom, both Daryl and Beth breathed his name, "Rick," and he immediately began stripping naked. Beth was riding Daryl, who laid flat on the bed.

In the languorous, slow, pleased cat-like roll of her movements, Rick could tell Beth had already come several times, probably 3, but maybe 4. He knew her body and its depths like the back of his hand. Plucking her from Daryl, Rick sank his mouth deep onto Daryl's dick, loving the taste of Beth on him, and taking the other man deep into his throat. Rick knew both of his lovers by heart, and he'd learned how to deep throat Daryl, how Daryl liked his balls cupped, and how much he loved having the skin behind his balls stroked.

"Rick?" Beth whispered, and Rick released Daryl, and both mens' eyes widened as they turned to find a tube of lubricant in Beth's hand.

Beth looked so aroused she was almost swaying on her feet, "I found this today and I really want you two to do this."

Rick didn't know what to say. They had talked about this, and Daryl had gotten really good at rubbing his fingers in Rick, the sensations were amazing, and had greatly enhanced their sex life, but he just wasn't sure he was ready to take the next step with the other man.

"I want to," Daryl's voice was husky, gravelly, and very excited, "I'll go first, Rick. I'm not scared."

But Rick was. He looked at the hard, swollen flesh of his own penis and couldn't imagine how he wouldn't hurt Daryl, but when Daryl flipped over, the muscled orbs of his ass in the air, Rick realized just how bad he wanted to try this.

"Maybe we should stand," Beth purred, and Daryl immediately moved to their dresser, bracing his hands on the wood.

Rick stared at Beth in amazement as she grabbed Rick's dick and coated it with the lubricant and whispered, "We'll both fuck him," as she dropped in front of Daryl and took him into her mouth.

At first the tight skin seemed too small, impossible to enter, and Rick held back, barely applying pressure because the last thing he'd ever want to do was hurt Daryl. At the same time, he wanted the other man to belong to him, much as Beth was his. Daryl was, of course, his too, but there was something so deeply binding about probing at the other man's ass, about entering him.

"Come on, you're not going to break me," Daryl whispering huskily, "It feels really good, Rick, give it to me."

So Rick did, and suddenly he was inside the other man, and it was so tight he wondered if he'd be able to last more than a few seconds.

"You okay?" Rick asked. He held Daryl's hips, and the other man was backing onto him.

"Oh my god yes, I'm about to come," Daryl said through clenched teeth, as he grabbed Beth's head and fucked hard at her mouth, "Just give it to me, Rick!"

Hard and fast, Rick pounded into him, and as he felt Daryl shudder, and groan, Rick allowed the pleasure to overtake him, slamming deep into Daryl as wave after wave orgasmed from him. Pulling out, Rick turned the other man around and hugged him.

After Beth cleaned them both and herself, they laid back on the bed.

"I loved it," Daryl stated, tangling his fingers in Rick's hair.

"Didn't that hurt?" Rick asked, but as Daryl looked into his eyes, Rick saw the sheer happiness there.

"Stung like a bitch, yeah it hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to how good it felt."

Beth suddenly laughed, "I came just from feeling you fuck him into my mouth."

And Rick couldn't have been happier with the both of them, as they all began teasing and laughing, and the love made his skin tight, as if his body couldn't contain the enormity of their love affair.

...

The van was finally road worthy, so one spring morning, just as the sun dawned, a small caravan left the gated community.


	35. Chapter 35

Though Daryl had enjoyed many aspects of the gated community, he was glad to be on the road again. To be honest, the only thing he missed about that huge, hard-to-protect neighborhood was the bedroom he'd shared with Beth and Rick. He didn't need a bed to sleep in, or warm covers, but he did need his lovers, and the road offered no privacy whatsoever. Sure, they found a brief stolen moment here and there, and often at least two of them got to sleep next to one another, but all three could never really find moments to steal, and there was such a press of humanity around them at all times, and so many kids, that Daryl often wondered if they'd ever be alone again.

They'd pulled over in a small, seemingly-abandoned town just over the Virginia line. Though they had plenty of canned goods, and half of one van was still stacked full of boxes of cans, having enough water was always a concern.

Daryl and Ty quickly cleared the streets of a few weak walkers that stumbled toward their vehicles.

Everyone climbed out of the cans to stretch their legs, most stayed close, but the rest of them spread out to scavenge. Finding water or things to drink was their top priority.

...

Daryl and Rick quickly swept the store. There was very little left in the way of goods, but Rick stuffed some bandaids and antibiotic ointment in his backpack. On a shelf behind molded boxes of cereal, he found a pack of cigarettes. Knowing Daryl would love them, he grinned to himself, and picked them up. It had been months since Daryl had a cigarette.

"No water," Daryl gravelly voice behind him.

"Found these," Rick said, turning to face Daryl.

"Have I told you today that I love you?" Daryl grabbed the pack and started tapping it hard against his palm, his eyes glowing with pleasure.

"Nope," Rick grinned, grasping the back of the other man's head and tugging his face close, "kiss me."

Instant flutters in Daryl's stomach, and heat flashed to his dick. He wanted to grab Rick and kiss him deeply, nuzzle the skin of his neck and chest. He wanted to pull Rick into a private space, drop to his knees and take Rick into his mouth. He wanted to do a thousand things, but instead he slowly leaned forward and gently kissed Rick, licking at his mouth until it opened. As Rick's tongue met his, Daryl started sucking it at it, mimicking what he loved to do to Rick's dick, and the other man swayed on his feet.

It was such a damn turn-on to Daryl, being able to affect Rick like that.

The kiss was short, but both men were breathing hard, "It's been too fucking long, Daryl," Rick whispered, adjusting the bulge in his pants, "damn I want you."

"I know," Daryl breathed back, and both took a moment to calm down, resting their foreheads together, staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"One day soon we'll be safe, and I'm locking you and Beth in a bedroom for at least a week," Rick told him and Daryl grinned happily. Sounded like heaven.

As they headed toward the exit, Daryl asked Rick, "Beth seem a little strange to you lately?"

"Beth?" Rick's head tilted, "I haven't noticed anything different, why?"

"Dunno. Just a feeling. Something's up with her."

...

Beth wasn't necessarily avoiding her men, but neither was she seeking them out. Actually, she did her best to stay away from everyone, especially in the mornings.

3 mornings in a row, she'd fought bouts of nausea, quietly vomiting once behind a tree, and another time behind the back of one of the vans. Her breasts were so tender that the slightest touch hurt. Yesterday Daryl had given her a brief, hard hug, and she'd had to hold back a squeal of pain. He'd given her a strange look when she pulled back, asking, "Everything okay?" but she'd plastered a grin on her face and whispered, "Luckiest woman in the world."

She meant it too. It didn't matter which of her men's sperm had created this teeny baby growing inside her, this was their baby. All of theirs. Once she'd realized why her body was acting so strange, she'd had amazing emotional swings, from horror at what the future might possibly hold, to exquisite delight at the idea of their child, a product of their love, living and breathing.

If she told them she was pregnant, she had no doubt the trip to Washington would be postponed, indefinitely. They'd probably lock her in a room somewhere. Though Daryl would worry, she thought the idea of a pregnancy would terrify Rick. Losing Lori in childbirth was one reason he often reached for the condoms, but all of them had gone at it many a time completely bare. In the heat of the moment, it rarely seemed to matter. Afterwards, he'd spent many a night insisting they'd always use them in the future. It was actually kind of funny, how earnest he would be, until the next moment he got lost in.

Beth rubbed a hand in circles over her flat stomach. As soon as she realized she was pregnant, she'd started calling the baby "Trip". Even though she'd gotten out of the van and stretched her legs, she was feeling a little dizzy, so she climbed back in, edging to the back and trying to breathe shallowly. In through the nose, and out through the mouth.

One of Ellen's girls, Cathy, suddenly dashed in the van and crawled in the back with Beth, who was too distracted to notice the other girl's wide-eyed look.

"It'll be alright, won't it, Beth?"

Having no clue what the girl was talking about, and at the moment not caring, Beth had nodded in agreement.

...

As Rick and Daryl exited the third store they'd entered, the sudden sounds of female screams and squealing tires cut the silence. They ran out to find one of the vans disappearing in the distance.


	36. Chapter 36

As the van squealed away, Rick sprinted toward the truck, "Daryl, Ty, Abraham, with me now! Bob, you're in charge! Get everyone off the streets and in a store!"

People were running around in a panic, but in the truck's rear view mirror, Rick saw Bob take charge, herding people toward the first store he and Daryl had swept.

Rick squealed tires, too, and attempted to push down the panic that roared through his skull as Ty said, "I think Beth and Cathy were the only ones in the van."

"We'll get her back. Fuck if we won't," Daryl gritted out beside him, and images of Rosita's ordeal flashed through Rick's mind, images of all the horrible things that could happen to the woman he loved. He shook his head, a feeling of his sanity slipping, like when Lori died, or that sick bastard had held Carl captive beneath him. Rick shook his head again, chasing off the imaginary visions of his Beth, focusing on the road.

Daryl's hand squeezed Rick's thigh, "The sombitches are dead."

"Who the hell is driving?" Abraham asked.

"I saw Beth get in, she looked sick or something, and then Cathy got in. I'm positive she sat in the back with Beth," Ty replied, squeezing the bridge of his nose, "so someone had to sneak up and carjack them."

The hills leading out of the little town sloped wildly up and down. They lost sight of the van several times, only to see it top the next hill. A walker stepped in their path, and Rick barely swerved as thick blood splashed onto the windshield. Once the wipers cleared a trail in the blood, they could see the van parked at the bottom of the hill.

"They have them on foot now. I'll check the van, Daryl you find a trail."

Guns drawn, the four men surrounded the van. As Rick swept the python in the open door, Daryl's eyes were on the ground.

Inside the van, Rick swallowed hard at a small smear of blood on the back seat armrest, and another larger blood spray further down the seat.

Daryl stated, "They went this way, east. There's only two men, and Beth's dragging her feet. We'll catch them."

Thick woods lined both sides of the road, and as Daryl led, the other three men followed.

...

When the two men had jumped in the van, the scarred-faced one had held a shotgun in their faces, while his crazy-eyed companion squealed tires. Cathy was blubbering beside her, but Beth kept her eyes trained on the man with the gun.

"This was not a good idea," she told him, "they'll come after us and kill you both."

"Shut the fuck up!" the man yelled and struck Beth across the face. His big ring cut deep into her cheek, and Beth's eyes had blazed. Probing at the wound with her fingertips, she knew it was going to leave a nasty scar.

As the men had drug them from the van, the crazy-eyed one bruise-gripped Beth's arm, dragging her beside him. She'd tried to break his hold like Daryl had taught her, but the man anticipated her, and laughed, striking her upside the head. Ears ringing, she stumbled in his grip.

First Beth had torn a strip of fabric from her shirt, dropping the tiny piece by her feet. She also flicked blood from her cheek, rubbing at the wound to restart the blood flow. As they reached a wide, but shallow creek, the man had shoved them both into the water. Beth had gained her footing, but Cathy had fallen face first. The other woman was sobbing in fear, so Beth jerked Cathy to her feet, whispering, "They will come."

As the scarred-face man prodded them both with the rifle, Kathy nodded, though tears poured down her face.

Beth knew they'd gone into the water to throw rescuers off the trail. Though she'd been fighting her nausea all morning, Beth focused on that sick feeling now, and was pleased to spray vomit onto the creek bed. Daryl would find that.

"Fucking bitch!" The man behind her screamed, knowing exactly what she was doing. He poked her hard in the back with his shotgun, "This ain't no Hansel and Gretel!"

"They're still young enough, right?" the crazy-eyed one asked, "I mean, the kids would have been better, of course they would, much more tender meat, but these two will do, right?"

"Shut up, you stupid fuck, they are fine. Plenty young."

Beth and Cathy exchanged looks of horror, what they hell did these men plan to do to them?

...

"That's our girl," Daryl told Rick, handing him a scrap of yellow fabric, "She's leaving us a trail."

His eagle eyes also pinpointed the drops of blood, but Rick was already looking crazed, so Daryl kept that detail to himself. It was just a drop here and there, and from the pattern, it looked like Beth may have been purposely flicking drops.

As they reached the creek bed, Daryl cussed, "Fuck! They've gone in the water."

Rick looked back and forth along the creek, "Ty and Abraham, go that way. Daryl and I will head in this direction. We find them and meet back here. We search until we find them, but as the sun sets, regardless, we meet back here."

Though Ty and Abraham paused near Beth's vomit, neither man noticed the small damp area of leaves, "Like a needle in a haystack," Abraham told Ty, who nodded his head sadly.

...

The men drug Beth and Cathy to a small shack. Three men stood on the porch cackling at the sight of them.

"Damn, boys, you done good! Two of 'em!" said a tall, heavily bearded man.

As they met them in the yard, one man started feeling up Beth, poking at the flesh of her arms, butt, and upper thighs, "This one is skinny as shit, but that one!" He chuckled, moving to feel up a wailing Cathy.

Even though no one could get fat on their rationed diets, Cathy was definitely fuller figured than Beth. Their words struck fear in Beth's heart, there was no doubt these sick fucks planned to eat them, so her eyes were constantly sweeping the men for an opening, for any chance to escape.

"Tie and gag this skinny one up and put her in the back," the burly man instructed the youngest of the group, a sandy-haired teen boy with a few scraggly whiskers dotting his chin. He was also the only only who wore a look of lust, not hunger.

As the teen drug Beth into the house, she thought she may have an opening, but a short man followed, his gun in her back.

The shack was in shambles, and similar to the one Beth and Daryl had drunk moonshine in all those months ago. The men lived like slobs, and there was a sickening smell of rotted meat in the air. The teen tied Beth's wrists behind her, and then her ankles. As he'd stood back up, he pressed his erection hard into her backside as his hands squeezed her breasts. It would have hurt at a normal time, but the tenderness in her breasts made her whimper in pain.

"Come on, boy. No playing with the food," the short said, grinning at Beth as he stuffed a gag in her mouth.

As they closed the door and left her alone, Beth concentrated on two things. First, not throwing up and drowning in her own puke behind the gag, and finding anything to help cut through the rope binding her wrists and ankles.

The sound of an electric saw split the air, and then the muffled sound of Cathy's gagged screams. Beth choked twice, swallowing back bile, but then she blinked away the stinging tears, and focused back her goal.

...

The trail was cold and Daryl wanted to beat his head against a tree in frustration. There was no way two men dragging two women could have just disappeared like that. It was close to sunset when he met Rick's eyes, shook his head, and they turned back as one, "Ty and Abraham will probably have them."

Perking up at the idea, they'd jogged back. Though the moon was full, darkness was complete, and it wasn't until they were almost on top of Ty and Abraham that they saw Beth and Cathy were not with them.

Rick made a choked sound, and uncaring of their audience, Daryl took Rick into his arms, stroking his hands up and down Rick's back, "We'll find her," he repeated over and over, "we'll find her."


	37. Chapter 37

Even though Beth had searched every inch of the room she could reach, there was nothing she could use to cut the ropes, but she had felt a bit of triumph as she slowly worked with her teeth and tongue to spit out the gag.

Dejected now, she carefully sat down on the filthy floor. The screams from Cathy had ended before the sun set, and Beth just knew the other girl was dead. Perhaps even filling the bellies of those sick men. Even though horrible images kept running through her mind, a large part of Beth was focused on her men. She knew they'd tear apart the woods to find her. They would come, but she needed to be ready to help herself if an opportunity arose. She thought of Daryl's self-defense techniques, running through the many things he'd taught her so she could always protect herself.

"You're stronger than you look," he was fond of saying. A small smile tugged at her lips as his gravelly voice echoed in her mind, "and heavier too."

"You can easily disarm someone with your sweet, youthful face," Rick had told her one day, "That's a weapon, too, and don't ever doubt it."

Their voices in her head comforted her, and she didn't feel so alone in her own head, though with little Trip growing inside her, she reckoned she wouldn't be alone even there for the next 7 months.

"Mummy's going to do whatever it takes to get us out of this," she whispered to the tiny baby in her womb.

Though she hadn't meant to fall asleep, exhaustion kicked in and she dozed, only to be startled awake when the door opened. Through the palest moonlight she could see two men carrying a body.

As they set the body down with a heavy thump just inside the door, Beth heard the teen whisper, "Just a few minutes with her. I promise I won't hurt her."

The other guy apparently granted permission because as the door closed, the teen walked over to her.

"I think you're pretty," he whispered, running a hand over her hair. It took all of Beth's strength not flinch away from him, to act like she liked his touch.

"You got nice titties," he added, "and a nice ass. Just want to touch you a little," as Beth squeezed her eyes shut briefly before smiling up at him, "I think you're cute," she whispered.

...

They'd gone back to the town, gathered up the group, and more importantly to Daryl, the heavy duty flashlights. Everyone made camp at the foot of the hill by the abandoned van.

Maggie stepped up, "I'm going with you to search." Glenn limped forward to stand at her side, clutching a cane in his hand. His wounds had healed, but Bob believed there was nerve damage in Glenn's right thigh.

"Maggie, it makes no sense for a bunch of us to be roaming through these woods at night," Rick began, but Maggie held up her hand, and cocked her head in the same way Beth did. The gesture tugged at his heart.

"Well you can't stop me. I know you love her, but she's all the family I have left."

Studying the determination on her face, Rick finally nodded. Maggie quickly shushed Glenn's protests.

Abraham and Ty stepped back up, ready to start the search again, but Rick stayed them, "Out in the open like this, we need every person here protecting the women and children."

Sasha, Bob, Abraham, Ty, and Carl were put on watch while the others attempted to find space to sleep in the packed vans.

Armed with the heavy flashlights, Rick, Daryl, and Maggie disappeared into the woods.

...

"I know you like that," the teen was whispering. He'd forced Beth to stand, but in his lust, hadn't paid attention to the fact that her gag was gone. He held her against his erection, and it was all Beth could do not to twist wildly out of his hold. His hand were roughly molding her butt, and it hurt, how could anyone imagine that felt good?

But Beth moaned a little, to her ears it sounded like a dying animal, but the teen thought she was into it, which was all that mattered. He kissed her, wet and sour, and for the hundredth time that day, Beth choked back bile. As he broke the kiss, breathing heavy, Beth leaned in and began kissing his throat, placing large opened mouth kisses down the column of his neck. As he tilted his head back to give her better access, Beth opened her mouth wide and bit hard down into his jugular and then using all the strength she could muster, she ripped her head away, taking a chunk of the kid's throat with her.

He didn't die quickly like Rick's victim had, instead he'd started thrashing. As he fell to the ground, Beth sat on his chest to hold him still and turning sideways, she used her bound hands to dig a knife from his pocket.

Finally getting it open, Beth put the knife between her boots, laid on her side, and started sawing at the rope binding her wrists.

She hadn't ate or drank anything since the last time she vomited, so she ignored the dry heaves racking her body. The metallic taste of the teen's blood burned her mouth like acid.

By the door, Cathy's body groaned.

Beth sawed faster, convinced Cathy was a walker now. The knife dug into her flesh a few times, but she ignored the pain.

"Beth?"

"Oh my God, Cathy! You're alive!" Beth whispered loudly, and then checked herself. The teen had only asked for a few minutes with her and odds were, someone would be coming soon.

"The son of a bitches took my leg and ate it," Cathy's voice was wispy, and Beth edged closer, "they like to keep their victims alive and slowly eat parts of them."

"I'm so sorry, Cathy, I'm going to get us out of here," Beth assured her, sawing away at her bound hands, but she stopped at the sound of Cathy's light mocking laughter.

"Back in town, in one of the stores, there was a torso of a dead woman, like she'd been cut in half. I liked the necklace she was wearing, and since I thought she was dead, I leaned down to unhook it. Bitch came to life and bit me on the arm. I stabbed her through the head and put my jacket back on. I thought since it was a small bite, I'd be okay, but I'm not. I can feel it, Beth, feel it inside me."

Stunned, Beth reevaluated, "Think you can help me with these ropes?"


	38. Chapter 38

It was so dark out, the inky blackness of the treetops seemed to swallow all the light from the pale moon above. Beth attempted to move silently, but every little sound had her jumping, pointing and stabbing her knife at shadows. She wasn't worried about walkers, but about one of the creeps from the shack coming after her. Feeling her way through the darkness somehow soothed the constant nausea, and Beth was glad to be without it for once.

"We've got this, Trip," she whispered to her stomach, rubbing her hand in slow, protective circles.

After Cathy had helped Beth finish cutting the bindings, Beth had laid a hand on the other woman's forehead. Massive heat poured from Cathy's body and Beth knew she'd be dead soon. They'd removed her leg at the knee, and Beth was surprised at the professional-looking, tight white bandage. Cathy also told her they'd cauterized the wound with a blowtorch.

Beth couldn't wait until Rick and Daryl got here and killed every one of those bastards. She grinned into the darkness just thinking about it.

Remembering poor Cathy back in that shack sobered Beth. Using her newly acquired knife, Beth had stabbed it in the teen's skull, so he wouldn't reanimate and warn the others with walker moaning. She'd offered the same to Cathy, but the other woman shook her head, "Maybe I'll come back and bite one of those creeps. I hope like hell I bite more than one."

Cathy urged her to run, but Beth hated leaving the other woman behind. As Beth had edged open the small window in the room, the creaking sound it gave had terrified her, but when no one came to check, she'd shoved it up the rest of the way and climbed out quickly.

From inside she could hear the other woman laughing softly and repeating the phrase, "Tainted meat," over and over.

After running for several minutes, Beth began to worry she was moving in the wrong direction. When a walker stepped into her path, she took her frustration out on it, stabbing her knife deep in its head long after it had stopped moving.

Stunned at her own behavior, Beth sat in the leaves for a minute before deciding to just trust her instincts about how to make it back to the creek.

Soon, the sound of trickling water could be heard ahead. _Damn right_, she thought, and directed the thought at Daryl, _told you I was getting good at this. _

...

Sweeping the area with the flashlights, Daryl, Rick, and Maggie found nothing, and all 3 were frustrated.

"We should come back at first light," Maggie suggested.

Daryl suddenly stopped, "Lights off."

Though Rick and Maggie quickly complied, it was almost a minute before Rick heard the splashing too. Something was moving toward them. In the pale moonlight, Rick thought it was a walker and he stepped forward to take it out.

Just before he swung his knife, Beth's sweet voice, "Rick? Is that really you?"

Maggie's flashlight snapped on and all 3 of them just stared at Beth. To Rick, she appeared to have been dipped in blood. As though someone had held her upside down by the ankles and submerged her. The only skin he could see was her forehead.

"Beth," Rick breathed, grabbing her into his arms, "Where are you hurt?"

Daryl came behind and wrapped his arms around the pair of them.

"I'm not hurt, this is not my blood."

Backing up slightly, her men examined her from head to toe, as Maggie asked, "What happened, Bethie?"

As she explained about the men, about Cathy, about biting that boy's throat out, white hot rage filled Rick, for what she'd suffered, for what those bastards had forced his sweet girl to do.

Rick gently kissed her on the forehead, and then he tugged Beth down to the water. Slowly he cleaned the blood from her face and neck. The cut on her cheek was his undoing. She watched him, her eyes glittering and expectant. She knew.

Rick's voice, when he spoke, was so cold it sent chills down Maggie's spine, "Take her back to camp, Maggie. Daryl, with me."

...

Daryl found Beth's back trail quickly, and a few moments later, he and Rick stood by some trees next to the cabin, "She came out of that window," Daryl whispered.

Daryl had seen Rick in rage mode before, and looking back now, it had always turned Daryl on, even if he hadn't known what he was feeling at the time. Now though, he watched this Rick carefully. Rick's goal may have been to kill everyone of the fuckers in that shack, but Daryl's only goal was to protect Rick, from himself if need be. Daryl wanted the fuckers dead, too, but he wanted Rick alive more.

"Boost me," Rick whispered, and Daryl did, watching Rick shimmy through the small window. Daryl quickly tugged himself up, too, squeezing his shoulders to fit. As he dropped to the floor, he saw Rick examining Cathy, and then stabbing his knife into her skull.

As Rick opened the door, Daryl was right behind him.

It was a bloodbath, Daryl didn't even try to take out anyone himself, he let Rick fly around the room of sleeping men, but as they woke, either to the sounds of their comrades' screams or Rick's guttural yells, Daryl was behind him, taking out anyone who got near Rick.

After every single man was dead, and stabbed through the skull, Rick had dropped to the floor, and Daryl sat behind him, wrapping his arms around Rick's stomach and resting his face against Rick's neck.

"Something's wrong with me," Rick had whispered, and Daryl's heart tugged knowing Rick was in the aftermath.

"Naw man, nothing's wrong with you. Every one of these sick fucks deserved what they got."

Rick shrugged off his arms and turned to face Daryl, "You might think I don't know how you always protect me, but I do."

"Always. I'll never let anything happen to you. I'll die first," Daryl told him, and there in that shack of death, surrounded by dead men and pool of blood, Daryl told him his heart, "I love you more than I could ever care about me."

Rick kissed his forehead, and then Daryl's lips gently, a slow, sweet play of tongues and lips, "Let's get the hell out of here."


	39. Chapter 39

Bob spent close to a half an hour stitching Beth's cheek. He'd never done such small and detailed stitching, but as one of the many who loved the beauty of Beth's sweet face, he concentrated on leaving her with as small of a scar as possible. He was amazed at Beth's strength, though her eyes had watered, she hadn't flinched once as he drug the needle through her flesh. The black thread he was using gave her a rakish look, and he was very pleased with the results. He'd just finished when Rick and Daryl returned to camp.

Beth flew into their arms, uncaring about the amount of blood soaked into their clothing, and around the camp, smiles topped every face. When Beth and Maggie had returned to camp and told them what had happened, people's spirits had plummeted. Hearing about Cathy and the sick men who'd helped cause her death had lots of them creeped out, and had them losing faith, but seeing Beth swallowed between her men gave them all a twinge of hope again. There was something so right, so positively uplifting, about the love the three shared. Many an eye blinked at tears.

When Rick began to speak, everyone crowded around. As far as the newer women and children were concerned, he was the best leader they could imagine, and had always shown the capability to get things done and keep them safe. Many of the children privately called Rick superman. Some of the older group members, who remembered all of his leadership over the years, even after he'd lost his mind over Lori, still felt the same proud glow of happiness as the newer ones. Though most easily saw Daryl as Rick's equal, as an extension of Rick, they knew where the voice of their leadership came from.

"This world is ours now, it's the hand we've been dealt, and accepting all of the bad about it, all of the walkers and the evil people left behind, well frankly, that sucks, but accepting that it sucks is all we can do, and then we move on. But we have each other, and we always have to put the whole group first. If you get bit, like Cathy did, you have to tell us. We can amputate sometimes, cut off the bite, and if we can't, we can make your death as painless as possible. That, what Cathy did, hope the bite was small enough, can never happen again. A bite is a bite. A bite must be dealt with. If you get bit and tell no one, you could potentially kill us all. Never again. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded, and he continued, "Our focus now is on getting to Washington, getting Eugene to the people he needs to connect with. Getting all of us somewhere safe so we can rebuild our lives, rebuild for the good people, the ones who want this world to be a better place. But we have to watch each other's back. I don't know who left the keys in the van that took Beth and Cathy, but I do know simple errors like that can cost lives. I'm not perfect, I'm trying to lead you people as best I can, but I need your help. I need us all focused on protection, all of the time. No more errors. No more fuck ups. This is our world. We have to deal."

He reached for Beth's hand and then for Daryl's, "All of us are a family. Family comes first. Always."

...

Since many had already grabbed a few hours of sleep, Rick, Beth, and Daryl took one of the vans, the one with no seats, just a large empty back compartment. As the door closed, and they had some semi-privacy, they piled on top of one another, hugging, kissing, and touching, and there was nothing sexual about their movements. Each was so overwhelmed with the feeling of all three of them being safe and alive.

"I love you," was whispered repeatedly, and after a while they settled down, lying flat on the floor with Beth in the middle. She suddenly gave a deep, weighted sigh, and both men eyed her questioningly.

"I have to tell you two something. I wasn't going to, not for a while yet, simply because I don't want it to change anything," Beth whispered.

Both men sat up, facing her expectantly, and threading her fingers through their hair, she tugged their heads side by side, pressing their cheeks together. Both them so gorgeous, so heart-breakingly beautiful, their blue eyes echoing their love of her.

Looking back and forth between the vivid blues, a smile slowly bloomed across her face, "We're pregnant."'

...

Rick sat speechless, the horror of losing Lori in childbirth, the idea that could happen to Beth warred in his mind with the idea of their baby in her arms. The idea that the three of them would be parents together. The idea that this baby would grow up with two dads and the best mother in the world. His teeth worried at his bottom lip as he stared at the beautiful woman in front of them, her eyes full of patience and love.

...

Daryl sat speechless, the idea that he didn't know shit about being a dad, might actually be a piece of crap father like his old man warred with the idea of exquisite perfection that their love had created life. His teeth worried at his thumbnail as he stared at the woman he loved, her beautiful eyes so kind, so gentle, glowing with the bright light of her soul. His love for her filled his heart and he waited for them to speak.

...

Beth watched the expressions flow across their faces, and waited in understanding silence for them to process her news. She'd seen enough movies over the years to know women were supposed to get upset if a man didn't immediately express happiness over an impending arrival, but these were her men, and they were both complex and needed a minute.

Inside her mind, she told Trip, "With these two men as your fathers, you're going to be the luckiest baby in the world."

...


	40. Chapter 40

Rick and Beth had talked through the night, Daryl barely doing more than grunting occasionally. The idea of sleep was forgotten and as Rick expressed his mass of fears and Beth calmed them, Daryl began to feel disconnected. Every possible scenario, all the bad things that could possibly happen, were discussed in depth, Rick and Beth's heads tilted together in earnest. Afterwards, the joy began, and Rick and Beth's dreams of this perfect baby, this perfect triad of parenting, began.

They had glowed at one another, and Daryl watched, his heart conflicted. Though they included him, as always, in their hugs, and in their kisses, he existed somewhere outside their joy, and therefore separate. In those moments, inside of their threesome, for the first time he felt alone. Completely and miserably alone.

...

Beth, the little beautiful demon that she was, would not leave it alone.

"Talk to me, Daryl," she would say, "tell me what you're feeling."

And he'd stare into the beautiful blue of her eyes, imaging her glow, her spirit stifled, as the thing growing inside her split her tiny frame apart.

"Women have always had babies," she would tell him, "and women have always survived."

He was a practical man, so of course he knew this. But this was Beth, and even though she was shapely, her frame was smaller than most of the children in their group.

She was too tiny, too small. She broke his heart. He began watching her in a type of calculation, measuring the width of her hips, the tiny span of her waist. The circumference of a full term baby's head. None of the math matched, and a part of him hated the infant growing inside of her.

...

Rick tried talking to him, too, tried to get Daryl to express himself, but all Daryl could picture in his mind was a blood-covered Maggie, holding Lil' Asskicker out to Rick. And Rick, dropping to the ground, crying out, "No! Nooooooooo!" And then Rick losing his mind, eaten alive by grief.

He could see himself doing the same. Torn apart by the loss of his sweet Beth. He could see himself lose touch with reality, begin having visions of Beth, while everyone around shook their heads at his craziness.

Daryl couldn't stand the thought, it ripped into his chest and squeezed at his heart. He found himself having difficulty breathing, separating from the suffocating cocoon that was now the four of them. Him, Beth, Rick, and the tiny growing thing that would kill her.

Rick, thinking Daryl's past was to blame, had tried to reassure Daryl, "You are not your father. You're a good man who would never in a million years hurt a child."

Daryl had nodded, he knew Rick spoke the truth, and even though his own asshole of an old man had crossed his mind, that was a peripheral worry.

His real worry was losing his light. Losing his Beth.

He knew others in their group had speculated about their threesome, and some believed it was only Rick that he was truly in love with, but they didn't know his heart; they couldn't possibly understand how her light filled a black void inside him, how her sweetness reached into his soul and held, with gentle loving arms, the little abused boy he'd once been.

No one understood, and one night, as he watched Rick and Beth rub circles on her belly, and share words in some tangled dream-speak he couldn't comprehend, he wondered if it would be better if he just left. Left the two of them love one another.


	41. Chapter 41

"Gonna see if I can find some meat," Daryl grumbled, not meeting Rick's eyes. As the other man took off toward the woods, Rick decided he'd finally had enough.

Beth curled into his side, "He won't talk to me. He's always got somewhere to be. And with the bike, I can't even trap him in one of the vehicles anymore."

It had been over a week since Beth's abduction and her pregnancy news. Since then, Daryl had returned to his old self, the short-tempered, few-words, edge-of-the-crowd guy Rick had first met. A few days ago, they'd found an abandoned motorcycle and Daryl had commandeered it, stating they needed him to check ahead whenever possible. That was true, sometimes the roads were blocked and vehicles could be shifted, but other times, the blockage was impossible, and they'd drag out the road maps, and search for another path. Travel was slow on good days, and it was frustrating to have to go dozens of miles out of their way due to blocked highways. But it scared Rick because he knew Daryl often went miles ahead of their caravan. The first time the other man roared off on the bike, Rick was terrified Daryl wouldn't come back, either through choice or mishap. Rick's heart had raced for the hour he'd been gone, raced and stuttered.

Now though, Daryl was using the bike as yet another way to separate himself. If Rick weren't so pissed off, his feelings would probably be hurt from the cold shoulder Daryl gave him. At first, Rick had hung back from confronting the other man, believing Daryl just needed some time. Then, he'd let Beth try to reach Daryl, positive Daryl wouldn't able to resist her. But now, after several days of her efforts, it was time for Rick to take some action.

Rick watched Daryl's retreating form, "Yeah," he told Beth, "I don't think words are going to work with him. He's too hard-headed."

"Could use his head to hammer nails," Beth agreed.

They were parked at an overgrown rest stop. People milled around, having a lunch or just stretching their legs. Everyone stayed close, except for Daryl.

Rick sighed, and kissed Beth's forehead, "I'll be back. And so will he."

...

Daryl heard Rick before he saw him. He really didn't want to deal with any shit right now, he was sick of the pair of them trying to talk to him. They made him miserable, especially Beth, with her big, concerned eyes.

He missed what they'd had together, missed them with every fiber of his being, it choked his breath, stole all of his thoughts ... but he also couldn't handle the thought of the pain to come. Better to separate himself now. Dixons didn't need no band-aids. Just rip that shit off.

Carol had it wrong back when she said Beth was the third wheel. The truth was it was Daryl. He'd watched them last night, sitting at the fire long after the others had gone to bed. They were perfect together, the love that shone between the two... it was like they hadn't even noticed he'd left them. Like he didn't even matter anymore. Like they were lost in their own world, their world of two. Them and their baby.

He turned, ready to spew some hateful words, anything to get Rick to leave him the hell alone, when Rick knocked the hell out of him.

Rick swung, his fist connecting with Daryl's jaw, and Daryl stumbled back, rubbing the side of his face, "What the hell?"

Rick replied calmly, "I'm going to punch you again and again until you stop acting like you don't give a shit."

Daryl got in Rick's face, "You don't know nothing!"

Rick shoved Daryl hard, and Daryl landed on his ass, "I know that you're scared so you're treating us like shit."

Daryl sprung up, and tackled Rick. Down in the leaves they rolled, punches flown wildly, and then Daryl sat on Rick, "You haven't even noticed I haven't been around," Daryl yelled in Rick's face, "Beth has at least tried to talk to me. You don't care what I do so quit acting like you do!"

Rick bucked him and they began wrestling again, and after a quick head butt, Rick was on top, "Surely you're not that stupid!"

"Maybe I am that stupid!" Daryl stopped moving and Rick was horrified when tears started rolling down the sides of Daryl's face, "I can't be a father. I definitely can't watch Beth die, I just can't do it," he choked, and added in whisper, "And I can't watch you turn away from me when she does."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rick demanded, rolling off Daryl to lay next to him in the leaves

"I know how you feel," Daryl whispered, "And it's Beth and the whole family thing you really want."

"You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. When we were in that shack, you never once worried about me, you slaughtered those assholes because of what they did to Beth. It was all about Beth."

Rick couldn't process what Daryl was saying, "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. You love her more. I get that. I'm okay with that. But what if she dies Rick? You'll be broken worse than Lori. You'll be broken. Why would you stay with me without her? She is the catalyst that brought you to me. She'll die and you'll leave me. Have you looked at her hips? I'm telling you there's no way she can birth a baby. The baby will split her apart and then you'll split apart and I'm just stopping the pain before it starts."

Rick's heart was breaking. He sat up slowly and looked down at Daryl, and tried to put his heart in his eyes, and in his words, "I was able to safety lose my mind in that shack because I knew you had my back, like my own personal guardian angel. I knew you'd keep me safe! Do you think I would have reacted differently if someone had taken you, planned to hurt you? Well, I wouldn't, I would have been just as crazed. Is my love for you different than my love for Beth, yes it is, as different as you are from Beth. But it's never been less, Daryl. Never."

Daryl watched him carefully, and Rick thought that if he didn't say the right thing, he might lose the other man forever, "Beth might die, any of us might, at any time, but if that happens, we'll need each other more than ever. You two, you share my heart, you share it equally, but if we lost her, I could survive it if I still have you. I love you, Daryl, as much as I love her. Together, she and I would be good, yes. And you and I together would be good. And you would be good with her. But I've had magic now, I've had the magic of all three of us. We've had that magic. We are the magic."

Using his bloody knuckles, Rick wiped the tears from Daryl's face, and allowed a few of his own to trace his cheeks, "You're mine, Daryl. You're mine and your Beth's. And we're going to beat this world."

...

Beth saw them coming, saw the relaxed posture of their bodies, the bloody faces and knuckles, so she quietly met them, took their hands and led them to the back of one of the vans. As they talked of the weather and other nonsensical things, she cleaned their wounds, and then Daryl whispered, "I'm sorry."

She kissed every inch of his face, repeating over and over, "It's okay. I'm okay." And she saw in his eyes that he'd come back to her, back to them. Her heart overflowed with love and she thanked God that they'd been able to make it through this.

Then Rick joked about the black eye forming on Daryl, bragging about his punch, and then Daryl bragged about Rick's split lip. They'd grinned at each other, happy with their wounds.

Beth rolled her eyes skyward, whispering, "Men. And I have two to deal with!"


	42. Chapter 42

Beth had yet to gain an ounce, of course, it was too early, but her men were driving her nuts because they were constantly trying to share their rations with her. She'd never been a big eater, and that helped in an apocalypse, but damn if she wasn't constantly walking around feeling stuffed these days.

They'd decided to keep the pregnancy to themselves until after they reached Washington, but Rick an Daryl were going to give it away any day now. Between shoving their food at her, and their hovering overprotectiveness, Maggie was already giving Beth questioning looks.

Though she understood their concern, between her recent abduction and Trip, she'd taken to spending a lot of time with the kids, especially Judith.

One afternoon, while Beth was feeding Judy, the baby laughed, and clearly said, "Mama!" as she reached for Beth. Rick, who been walking over, laughed, completely delighted, picked up and held Judith high above his head, "Your mama, huh?"

Later that night, as he'd snuggled into Beth, "Carl may be too big now, but you are the mother of my children. You're the best mother I ever could have chosen."

And Beth had turned to face him, laid her hand against his cheek, and burst into tears as Rick held her and stroked her hair.

Daryl suddenly appeared, concern obvious in his eyes. He sat beside them, remnants of his lost feelings of the previous week still in his behavior, but now Rick knew Daryl had accepted he was out of his league, and was trying to go with the flow, "She's happy."

Daryl's nodded, not understanding at all, so Rick pulled back from Beth and nudged her toward Daryl, who she latched onto and cried against. It tickled Rick so much to watch Daryl awkwardly pat her back.

"I love you two so much," Beth wailed.

Daryl's eyes widened, and he silently questioned over Beth's shoulder, mouthing, "Happy?"

Rick grinned and nodded.

The other man looked mystified, but suddenly his look changed. Beth was opening the front of his pants, then Rick helped her pull hers down. Just like that she was riding Daryl, who gave Rick a "I don't know what just happened and I don't care" look before grasping Beth's hips and hanging on for the ride.

Rick was happy to just lay there and watch. God, he loved them.

...

A storm had been building all afternoon, so the caravan pulled off the highway much earlier than normal. The farmhouse they found was large enough to accommodate them all. Ty and Michonne took first watch, and Rick had noticed that the two had started spending a lot of time together. Michonne had become their resident comedian, and everyone loved her, especially the kids, and she'd taken to teasing Ty almost constantly. It was good to see the guy healing. Rick wasn't sure Ty had been in love with Carol, but her death had affected Ty the hardest.

They'd been in the house a little over an hour, and Rick was excited because he, Beth, and Daryl would have their own room for the night.

Ty and Michonne suddenly ran in the house, Michonne yelled, "Walkers coming from everywhere! Vans are useless, lock down the house!"

Within a minute, walkers were beating at the doors, at the front of the house, the herd seemingly coming out of nowhere. The house actually seemed to shake with the force of their pounding.

As had become Daryl's habit when they found a house for the night, his bike was parked in the living room. It was the easiest thing for other humans to take, so he wanted it safe, and he loved tinkering on it during down time.

Now he turned to Rick, "There aren't many out back yet, but there will be. Got to draw them away!"

"Can you ride me?" Rick asked, "You drive and I'll lay down gunfire?" He grabbed his backpack, gave Beth a hard kiss and hugged Carl, as Daryl nodded and just like that, Abraham, Ty, and Michonne were on the back porch, killing walkers left and right, and Daryl and Rick roared out the door.

Rick hadn't been on a motorcycle in years, but it was easy to cling an arm around Daryl's stomach and shoot with the other. Reloading took a bit of finesse, but he managed by clenching his thighs around Daryl's. After a few miles like this, circling back to keep the herd's attention with the roar of the bike's engine and shots from the python, Rick thought they'd completely diverted the herd from the house where they'd left the group.

A few miles further down the road, well out of sight and sound of the herd stumbling toward them, they'd pulled over in front of a small, brick house, Daryl yelled, "Got about enough gas to make it back to the house, but we can't keep going, we'll have to hole up! Besides, it's about to storm."

The entire sky had blackened, and lightening was flashing to the east.

Rick scrubbed a hand over his face, "We need to make sure we have at least a couple of days of food. If there's nothing here, we have to find another place to hole up."

He and Daryl scavenged the abandoned house quickly, it was a mess inside, but there was some food. Two jars of peanut butter, and some canned goods, peaches, soups, and vegetables. Daryl brought the bike inside.

Moving and shoving all heavy furniture in front of the house's few windows, they moved the food into a small laundry room where was only one extremely high window. Rick stripped the home's beds, and stuffed other things, like hastily grabbed books, into his bag. He even found a deck of cards. Daryl grabbed items too, moved the bike in, and soon they were dragging a heavy china cabinet in front of the laundry room. It was unlikely the walkers would do more than flow around the house, but they wanted to be as prepared as could be.

There were only 4 bottles of water in Rick's backpack, but they'd learned, all cans had water too, in some form or another. Depending on the size of the herd, they'd just wait it out.

They played cards for a while, even as dark as it was, waiting for the herd to arrive. As the enormous symphony of groans and moans sounded outside, they remained still for a few moments, until assuring that yes, the walkers flowed right around the house. And then the storm began.

The blanket pallet was fairly comfortable, and they laid on their sides, facing one another. Though they kept their voices quiet, there was no need to whisper. The noise from the dead and the pounding storm was cover enough.

Daryl tugged Rick's neck toward him, "Remember my idea? About us all three getting married."

Rick grinned, "Never could have imagined another man would ask me to marry him."

"I know, trust me," Daryl's smile was sheepish, "but I want to now, I don't really know why I think it'll help me deal with everything, but I do. It's the binding, I think. I want it. I need it. You and Beth. Mine."

"Lori and I, our marriage, was over long before the apocalypse, I kept hanging on to hope, for Carl, you know? By that I don't mean I don't want to do it again with you and Beth, I like the idea, but in the end how important is it?"

"It's important to me," Daryl's deep, husky whisper made Rick light-headed with emotions, the other man was deadly serious, and it was just so dang sweet.

Rick smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips, "Then we're getting fucking married."

"Thank you. I don't have a ring for you, yet."

Rick laughed, "Well, yeah, I'll forgive you."

"I never graduated from high school," Daryl said suddenly, "I wanted to, then Merle came home from the army my senior year, and I took off with him. I never got a driver's license, had to have a parent sign for that kind of shit, and that wasn't happening with my dad. Never voted, paid taxes, don't even know my social security number. Never did a damn thing like I was supposed to. I want do this right."

"And then you hooked up with a sheriff's deputy and 19 year old."

"Nobody's 19 in an apocalypse. We're too old for her, you know that. I know that. But I don't care anymore."

"She chose us. She knows her heart, she's so fucking strong now, Daryl, she's amazing. Think about what miserable, depressed assholes we'd be without her... her joy. We need her and she needs us."

"I'll never walk away again," Daryl promised, "I'm in for the long haul."

"So are you gonna be my other wife?" Rick teased.

"Hell no. I don't know what we'll call each other, but it sure the fuck ain't that."

Rick grew serious, "Let's do this thing right. Find some rings. Get on our knees. Let her wear a white dress. All of it."

When Daryl kissed Rick, it was the slowest carress of lips because for once they knew they had all of the time in the world and no one could possibly interrupt them.

Outside, both the storm and the walkers raged on and on.


	43. Chapter 43

Beth was so sick to her stomach. Rick and Daryl had led off pretty much all the walkers, though it took hours and hours for the wave to pass, and a quick bit of teamwork from the group had handily taken care of the lingering ones.

Now everyone sat around, worried. Where were Rick and Daryl?

Outside the storm raged on, they heard the shotgun-crack sound of trees breaking,the lightning flashed almost repeatedly, and thunderous booms filled the air. It was so dark outside that no one even knew whether it was still the middle of the night or early in the morning.

"They were on a bike, I'm sure they holed up somewhere for the storm," Maggie hugged her, "They'll be back. They always come back."

"Until they don't," Beth whispered. She knew her hormones were crazy right now, and a part of her knew she was being irrational, but nothing could convince her heart that all would be alright. All she could see was her two men, so unprotected on that bike, charging straight into a herd of walkers, giving of themselves as always, to protect others. It was a part of why she'd fallen in love with them, and she knew others would think her selfish if she voiced her true thoughts. That someone else could have drawn off the walkers. Why did her men always have to be the rescuers?

"This isn't like you, Bethie. Those two are survivors in this world. They've got this. We just have to wait until the storm is over."

"What if it never ends?" Beth sobbed, squeezing Maggie way too hard. Maggie met Glenn's eyes, and then Michonne and Carl's. Beth was not acting like herself. Her defining personality trait was optimism. Beth was acting like the two men were lost forever.

Michonne came to sit beside them, shared a long look with Maggie; "Beth, you had a period lately?"

"Of course I haven't!" Beth wailed, and everyone in the room, even the innocent children, exchanged looks. Beth was so strong, and normally such a positive and upbeat person that no one knew what to think about this Beth.

"Could you be pregnant?" Glenn asked, and all the women glared at him. He held up his hands, and quickly backed out of the room, joining the other men in the kitchen.

...

"I think most of the walkers are gone now," Daryl said the next morning as Rick opened his eyes, "but that damn storm keeps coming."

"Thanks man," Rick said as Daryl handed him a can of peaches. It was a decent breakfast, but knowing how much Beth loved peaches, he wished she were here.

"She's so emotional right now, I bet she's freaking out," Daryl said, knowing where Rick's thoughts were. He'd been up for over an hour, reading a book he'd found _What_ _to Expect When You're Expecting_. He held it up to Rick, who grinned at him.

"You're going to be a great father, Daryl."

Daryl tucked his head, "We'll have to wait and see, I guess."

"No, I've already seen, I've seen you with all the kids, and you're good with them. I'm not worried at all. And think about this. What if you'd had two fathers, both who loved you to pieces and you'd had Beth as a mother? Our baby's going to be so loved."

"Right now, it's about the size of a peanut, I think, looking at this chart, and I know she hates those big vitamins, but we have to make her take them."

Rick grinned, "Have you heard her call the baby Trip?"

"Yeah," Daryl smiled a little, "though she hasn't said why," Rick shrugged and drained the peach juice from his can and reached for the other man, "I'm sure she has a reason. Will you boost me up to that window?"

Daryl held him up and Rick peered out the window. The storm still raged, and he saw a few water-logged walkers flailing in the mud, "It's going to be hard to get that bike through all that mud. This storm shows no sign of ending, either, but I think we can leave this room now."

...

Beth had cried until she passed out in Maggie's lap. The next time Glenn peeked out of the kitchen, Maggie was stroking her sleeping sister's hair.

"I'm sorry," Glenn said.

Maggie just shook her head and smiled, "When I told you I thought she might be pregnant, I really didn't expect you to just ask her in front of everyone."

Glenn smiled, "You know I'm not good with secrets," he waved a hand toward Beth, "she's so small. It's hard to imagine her big with a baby."

"Momma was small. Same size as Bethie. Dad always told us that. That momma was tiny when they married," she grinned at him, "I'm going to be an aunt!"

Glenn grinned back at her, "Me too! Well, an uncle."

...

When the rain finally stopped, very late that afternoon, Rick and Daryl went out to check the mud. The walkers had made a mess of the ground, and Daryl shook his head. There was no way they'd get the bike through that.

"How far are we from them, you think?" Rick asked.

"15 miles, tops."

"We can walk it and push the bike through the mud until we get back on the road."

"I'm not sure we have enough gas. We may be pushing it again before we get back."

"Well, let's wait until morning then. Leave at sunrise."

Back in the house, they gave the place a more thorough scavenge, stuffing medicine bottles and other miscellaneous stuff in their backpacks. Daryl was in the master bedroom and Rick was in a young girl's room, when Daryl said, "Rick, you're not gonna believe this!"

When Rick walked in, he saw the archer digging through a jewelry box, "There's dozens of wedding bands in here. What are the odds?"

Rick stood by Daryl and watched the excitement on his face. It made him so happy whenever the serious man lightened up, and as Daryl set two small diamond rings out, saying, "Choose the one she'd like," Rick grabbed the other man's shoulders and hugged him.

Daryl grunted but hugged him back, "What was that for?"

"I never knew you had this romantic side," Rick teased.

Daryl rolled his eyes, "She'll like a traditional engagement ring, don't you think?"

"Yes, yes I do," Rick threaded his hands in Daryl's hair and tugged their foreheads together. They remained like that for a few moments, simply hugging, before going back to digging and trying on bands for themselves, too.

...

The next morning found Beth staring blindly out a window. Some part of her heard the others whispering about her, about the fact that Rick and Daryl should have been back by now.

Several people attempted to speak to her, but most just patted her back. She wasn't ignoring them on purpose, she was just completely lost in her fears. In her heart, she knew Rick and Daryl were alive, but her terror was that they were stuck somewhere, unable to return.

Maggie handed Judith to Beth and she'd hugged the baby, but once Judy saw her mama wasn't really paying attention to her, she wiggled down and toddled away.

Her mind kept imagining their approach, how they'd suddenly appear in the distance. Therefore, it took her a minute to actually realize they were real. Once she did, she flew out the door and sprinted the quarter mile to them.

They were filthy, covered in mud, pushing the mud-covered bike, and she stopped well ahead of them, tears rolling down her face. The two of them had to be the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen, and she felt silly suddenly that she'd ever worried about her warriors. Back to back, protecting each other, they were unstoppable.

Rick reached her first, wrapped his arms around her, and then Daryl came from behind. Sandwiched between them, she could finally breathe again, even though her chest was crushed.

"Our Beth," Daryl said, his voice a husky rasp in her ear, and then Rick's agreeing, "Our Beth."

She thought the sweetness of it all might kill her. As the mud and muck of them smeared all over her, she'd never been happier.

...

Later, Beth watched with interest as Rick and Daryl took Maggie and Glenn outside. The four had an animated conversation. Beth knew there were jobs she should be doing, dozens of things, but she couldn't let them out of eyesight too long. She needed night to fall, so the three of them could head to bed. She need their love, she needed to caress every inch of their bodies and know they were real, that all was well.

The four of them seemed in high spirits out there, so Beth forced herself to help with chores. Her mind wasn't on her tasks, though, and soon the other women shooed her away, telling her to rest.

Everyone knew she was pregnant now, and seemed to think between Trip and her earlier reaction to her men's disappearance, she needed to be treated with kid gloves. Fuck it all, she thought, retreating to the bedroom that was theirs.

When Rick and Daryl entered the room later, clean and in fresh clothing, they found Beth writing furiously in a small journal. She flung herself at them, and after hugging her for a moment, they urged her to sit on the bed. Both of them got down on their knees in front of her.

Rick took one of her hands and Daryl took the other. As one they said, "Beth Greene, will you marry us?"

Shocked, she squealed, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and Daryl slipped a small diamond on her finger.

As they fell on the bed, clothing ripped and tore, and mouths and hands were everywhere. It was perfection.


	44. Chapter 44

The meadow, full of spring flowers, was the perfect spot for the wedding. They'd found a gown for Beth in a little town a couple of weeks back, and Father Gabriel was willing to perform the wedding at any time, but for Beth, the moment needed to be perfect. The caravan had been moving along at about 30 mph when Abraham said, "Why's Daryl stopped?"

Beth had looked ahead and she just knew. She knew he knew it was perfect and that she'd love it. Who ever would have known how romantic Daryl could be? Tiny white, yellow, and purple flowers dotted the meadow and Beth sighed.

As the caravan pulled over, Beth asked the people in the van with her, "Y'all ready for a wedding?"

The women commandeered Beth. One of Ellen's girls applied some light makeup to Beth's face and eyes while Maggie twisted, braided, and pinned her hair. As they settled the gown over Beth's still-thin frame, several of the women cried, and Maggie whispered, "Momma and daddy would be proud of your choices, Bethie. I'm proud of your choices."

...

The men were sort of milling around, but Rick and Daryl tried to make themselves presentable, both of them put on their best pants, and new black T-shirts. Daryl dampened his hair and combed it straight back out of his eyes, and Rick grinned at how handsome he looked, telling Daryl, "You never cease to amaze me."

Rick never thought he'd be getting married again. His mind briefly flashed to Lori, and he hoped that she was happy for him. All he wanted now was Beth and Daryl. They were all he'd ever want again.

...

Everyone stood in a semi-circle around Father Gabriel, Rick, and Daryl as Maggie and Glenn led Beth to them.

Beth was glowing, the sunlight turned her blond hair into gold, and her smile lit up all the participants. The beads on her short, white dress also caught the sun, and she looked like a goddess. Rick thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Rick reached across and took Daryl's hand. They weren't much for public displays, everyone might know that they loved each other as much as they loved Beth, but their love was more private than their love of Beth. Through their time together, Rick knew with all his heart that Daryl was as much his as Beth was. As they watched Beth walk toward them, Rick squeezed Daryl's hand, and the other man squeezed back. If Daryl's hand held a tremor, Rick would never tell.

"Who gives this woman to these men?" Father Gabriel asked.

"Her sister and I do," replied Glenn.

Letting go of Daryl, Rick took one of Beth's hands and Daryl took the other. They faced the priest.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the beauty that still exists in this world. These two men and this woman share a special love, and today in front of all of us and God, they wish to bind their love into holy matrimony..."

...

Daryl knew he was trembling. He knew Rick had felt it and Beth did now. She sent him an reassuring smile, and listened intently to whatever the priest was talking on about. Nothing the man said really mattered, though he knew his lovers were following every word.

Daryl thought back to his childhood, when those who were supposed to love him treated him like crap, and how miserable he'd been, seeing other kids loved and appreciated while he'd been beaten and belittled. He thought of his early adult years, when he'd become more and more like Merle, so bitter and angry. Never could he have have imagined that a pure and beautiful woman like Beth would one day love him. Never could he have imagined loving another man, or having such a good, brave man like Rick love him in return. Rick had started the changes in Daryl, and then he and Beth together had rewritten the story of Daryl's life.

He looked over at Rick's strong jawline, his handsome profile, and then at the beauty that was Beth. His heart seemed ready to leap from his chest. He was simply the luckiest man alive.

He checked his pocket again for his vows. He'd spent many a night painstakingly writing what he wanted to say. Daryl did not want to mess up the most important day of his life, so he did his best to focus on the priest.

...

Walking toward her men waiting at the "alter", Beth felt as though happiness beamed from her skin. They were so handsome, so strong, so brave, so completely hers.

The ceremony was beautiful and Father Gabriel choked up a couple of times as he repeated the traditional ceremonious words mixed with whatever seemed right to honor the threesome before him.

"The bride and grooms have prepared their own vows," Father Gabriel stated, and then nodded at the three of them.

Since neither of her men spoke up, Beth decided to go first, and looking back and forth between the two of them, she spoke her vows.

"The most beautiful gift of this life is love, and I've gotten it twofold. You are both the strongest, bravest, and best men I could have imagined ever meeting. I promise to love you both, in sickness and in health, for all of my life. I promise to always be at your sides, to be the best wife and mother I can be, and to always honor you, and our love."

Rick pulled out a piece of paper and then stuck it back in his pocket. He cleared his throat a couple of times, and then looked at Beth and Daryl, his heart in his eyes.

"I promise to love and cherish both of you as long as I live, and to always protect you and give you all of me. I promise that I'll always be there for you. I promise my love, all of it, forever."

Beth's heart clinched, Rick was a simple man, and his every word was his heart. She felt tears welling, and blinked quickly. As one, she and Rick turned to Daryl. He was clutching a heavily-wrinkled piece of paper. He looked so nervous, and so miserable, that Beth almost told him he didn't have to say any vows, but his voice, when it came, was strong and clear.

"I was a broken man, not deserving anyone's love, but you two have found good in me. It amazes me that you want me, that you love me, and knowing that you do makes anything bad thing I ever dealt with worth it. I'll stand by you through anything, anytime, anywhere. I'll kill any one who tries to hurt you and I'll protect your backs always. I'd die for you, both of you, in a heartbeat. I promise to love you until my last breath, I promise to never walk away, and I promise that I belong to you both always. You are our man and you are our woman. This I swear to you and to God."

Then the three were in each other's arms, kissing lips, cheeks, and foreheads.

Father Gabriel's voice was thick with tears, "I now pronounce you man, man, and wife."

There wasn't a dry eye in the meadow. The beauty of the moment etched itself in their minds and everyone there remembered for the rest of their lives the beauty of the joining of the three.

THE END

**_Author's Note: Thank you, everyone, who has read and loved this story. I wanted to end it before the new season because I know I'll have lots of inspiration ahead. I'm planning Brick, Bethyl, and Rickyl stories for the future. I may pick up this romance again because leaving their world of three makes my heart sad. If I do start this story again, I'll do it as a part 2. Again, thank you for reading! This was my first attempt at fan fiction and I've loved everything about it. :)_**


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